


Nerve

by shingekino_neon



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, EreRi Big Bang 2017, Explicit Language, Flirting, Happy Ending, Humor, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Misunderstandings, Non-Graphic Violence, POV Alternating, Romance, Weapons, ebb2k17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-10 18:37:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 43,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13507455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shingekino_neon/pseuds/shingekino_neon
Summary: Strapped for cash to keep his sister and himself afloat, Levi joins Nerve, an online game where Players complete dares for money. Along the way he meets Eren, a mysterious, popular Player in the game. Enthralled by their immediate connection, the Watchers of Nerve pair the duo up, sending them on dares more extravagant and risky than the last.





	1. Dare

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Iceslut](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iceslut/gifts), [thisgirlsays22](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisgirlsays22/gifts), [writer_person](https://archiveofourown.org/users/writer_person/gifts).



> Hi everyone! 
> 
> This is my submission for the EreRi Big Bang 2017. It's based off the film Nerve - which I dig and thought might be fun to subject Levi and Eren to. 
> 
> All of the thanks to T, Aer, Moneé, Sanya and Eren, who gave me ridiculous amounts of support and without whom, I would have thrown myself into the void 10x over. 
> 
> & a huge thank you to my partner for the event - jeagerscaptain on tumblr, who was not only so supportive of me, but also drew created THREE fantastic pieces of art for my story! they can be found here vv 
> 
> http://jeagerscaptain.tumblr.com/post/170547253028/nerve-by-shingekinoneon-okay-justread-it-okay
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Levi doesn’t know what kind of god would make a graveyard shift on a Thursday morning busy, but there is one, and he both hates and loves them; loves them because a busy section means more tips, and hates them because he’s already exhausted from Wednesday’s shift and classes. 

His energy dwindling, Levi carefully wipes down his last dirty table, and sighs as he catches sight of the folded bills that rest there. Three dollars is a bullshit tip for a forty dollar meal, but he’s dead on his feet and he can’t be bothered to be truly angry. At the very least, it’s three dollars he didn’t have before. He shoves the tip into his pocket and looks up at the clock above the diner’s front door, watching as the hands shift to 4:25 a.m. With a tired grumble, Levi shoves away from the table and makes his way past cackling teenagers and quiet adults towards the counter. 

His section is clear for now, and he’s grateful for the chance to breathe. Petra sends him a soft smile as she breezes by, plates full of food balanced on her arms. He quirks the corner of his mouth up, a small response that’s all he can muster, then sinks down behind the counter with his knees to his chest. He’s so tired that he can barely keep his eyes open, and it’s no surprise to anyone but himself when he’s shaken awake sometime later. Mike, the cook and owner of the diner, crouches in front of him, his hand still clasped on Levi’s shoulder. If it were anyone else, any other job, Levi would be in hot water, but Mike knows him well, and he chuckles as Levi groans and drops his head back against cabinet door. 

“Up and at ‘em, Ackerman,” he says, holding out his hand. Levi studies Mike’s face and wonders if this time falling asleep on the job might have been one too many, if his sense of security here is all just bullshit in his head, but his boss smiles and gives a quick nod. He lets Mike pull him up, and when he glances over the counter, Levi sees that not only are some of his tables occupied, he’s been asleep for a good half-hour. 

“Shit. Mike I’m sorr--” he starts to say, but is cut off by a stern look from Mike. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Mike insists, nodding at Petra as she refills drinks at the fountain. “P’s gonna take your tables. You go on home. I’ll see you Saturday.” His tone leaves little room for argument and Levi finds himself nodding along. Trading the diner’s cracked vinyl and hard floor for his blankets and bed sounds way better than it should considering about to leave his job before he should be **.**

Before he heads back into the kitchen, Mike fixes Levi with a hard stare. “ _ Two _ days from now, you hear? I don’t want to see your ass back in here until then.” 

And with that he’s gone, leaving Levi alone with Petra behind the counter. There’s a to-go cup in her hand that he just knows is filled with hot tea. She offers it to Levi with a sympathetic look. He wants to apologize for doing this to her, but experience tells him it’s no use. So he reaches for the drink with a tired smile. 

“I don’t think ‘I owe you _one_ ’ is accurate anymore.” 

“Hush,” she says and grabs his shoulders to steer him towards the back door. “I know you don’t live far, but  _ please  _ text me when you get home.” 

Levi gives an affirmative grunt and heads to his car, waving back at Petra before he unlocks it and ducks inside. 

The hot tea helps to wake him up a bit, and at just after 5:00 a.m, his drive back home is quieter than it usually is. He makes it back to the apartment complex in record time, slipping into his parking spot and out of the car as quickly as he can. 

Inside his apartment, Levi toes his boots off and places his keys gently on the side table. His sister Isabel is still asleep, and he doesn’t want to wake her. He remembers what it’s like to be in high school. Sleep is a precious commodity--no way in  _ hell  _ he takes it away from her too. 

He shoots off a text to Petra letting her know he’s home, and thanks her again for having his back. Once in his room, he promptly falls face first onto the bed. Levi doesn’t bother to take his clothes off, just lays there in his black skinnies and rumpled grey tee.

The next two days are some of his only real free days this month, no work or homework to be done and right now, as he tugs his pillow to his chest and his eyes slip shut, he’ll be damned if he spends another minute of it moving. 

\-----

Levi wakes to blissful silence. No customers, no students, no excitable Isabel--as much as he loves her. It’s just him and his empty apartment for the next few hours, that’s all he has to worry about. He considers staying in bed, taking advantage of the rest of the day by doing absolutely nothing, but he’s so used to being in constant motion, so used to being busy, that the thought leaves an uncomfortable itch under his skin. 

He tilts his head up to check the alarm clock to his left and a bright blue 9:42 a.m blinks back at him. It’s not even 5 hours, but at least it’s average for him. Levi exhales into his pillow then rolls off his bed, stretching his arms up to the ceiling and wincing as his back cracks. He runs a hand through his hair, scratching at the back of his undercut as he makes his way to the bathroom. 

He’s about to brush his teeth when his phone rings. It trills sharply in the quiet, and he walks out with his toothbrush in hand to answer it. 

“Hello?”

“Mr. Ackerman?” It’s a voice he’s heard before but can’t place. 

“Speaking.”

“This is Principal Sanya.”  _ Ah, there it is.  _ “I’m calling about your sister Isabel?  We’re going to need you to come to the school.” 

“Is she okay? What happened? I’m on my way.”

“She’s fine, sitting right here in front of me. Though there has been an  _ incident  _ of sorts _ ,  _ so we’ll discuss that when you get here.” 

He hangs up, finishes brushing his teeth and runs into his room, changing into clean clothes as fast as he can. Isabel never gets calls home, so it doesn’t matter that the principal said she was fine; Levi needs to see her for himself, make sure that she’s alright and they’re not keeping information from him to keep him calm or some shit. 

What the hell are they going to do if she’s hurt? A creeping thought about money and medical bills enters his mind, but he shoves it aside as quickly as it came. He’ll do whatever he needs to. 

His immediate reaction at home, he finds when he arrives at the school, was just a tad overboard. Isabel was-- _ is _ \--fine, so much so that she’d laughed at him when he’d gotten there, his eyes narrowed in suspicion as they scanned her up and down for injuries. Thankfully there were none, and he exhales sharply as he sits next to his sister now, perfectly fine with the corner of her mouth quirked upwards in a small smirk. He feels too old for this shit.

Across from them, Principal Sanya chuckles lightly and leans back in her chair. “Thank you for coming so quickly, Mr. Ackerman.”

“It’s not a problem. Now why am I here?” 

“Straight to business,” she says with a smile, “I like that.” She leans forward, clasping her hands together as she continues. “Now, I wish we were meeting on more positive terms, but unfortunately rules are rules. I’m going to have to suspend Isabel for the next two days.”

“What?  _ Why _ ?” he asks, brows knitting together. He levels a glare at his sister. The smug look on her face crumples a bit, but she holds it together.

“Isabel?” The principal’s voice sounds funny, like she’s trying to hold it together too, remain professional when all she wants to do is laugh. “Would you like to tell your brother why we’re here?”  

“I got dared to do something.” She fidgets a bit in her seat, tries and fails not to let her smirk grow. Levi can tell she’s probably caught between worry at his reaction and hope that he’ll find what she did at least half as funny as she does. He doesn’t think he will, at least not now.

“Is, what did you do?” He can see the principal’s amused expression out of the corner of his eye, so it can’t be  _ that  _ bad. 

“I replaced all the clarinets in band with big, black dildos.” 

Principal Sanya clears her throat and adds, “that’s 12, to be exact.” 

Levi’s eyes widen in shock as he stares at Isabel, incredulous.

“Why the  _ hell _ \--where did you even get them?” he asks, then immediately thinks better of it. “Don’t answer that.” He turns to the principal. “Was anything damaged?” 

“No, no,” she says, waving her hands. “Isabel brought the clarinets right back. Everything is fine, just a few scandalized students.” 

Is laughs quietly next to him. All Levi can do is shake his head and roll his eyes. 

“Alright, so just two days suspension then, yeah?” 

“That’s correct. Isabel and I have already talked about the incident and I’ve been assured nothing like this will happen again. She has her belongings, so you’re free to go.” She leans back in her chair again with a smirk and a pointed look at the student. “We’ll see you soon, Isabel.” 

Levi waits until they’re back at the car to interrogate her. “Alright Is, you wanna tell me what the hell that was all about?” 

“Don’t tell me you didn’t think that was funny,” she responds, sliding into the passenger seat. Her phone goes off and she laughs at whatever pops up on it. He stares at her, then the phone and back again. With a sigh, he shifts the car into drive and heads out of the parking lot. 

“I think it was hysterical, but that’s not the point,” he says as he turns on to the main road. “It’s your senior year Is, you can’t afford to do shit like this.” 

“I know, I know. And I’m not gonna fuck anything up, I swear. But Levi, I got a hundred dollars for doing it! If I do more, I could help you pay the bills. You wouldn’t have to work so much and--” She’s cut off as Levi brakes hard at an intersection and a white car streaks passed them. 

“Oi! You dumb fuck,  _ I’ve  _ got the green!” He flips the driver off for good measure, though they’re gone from sight. “Is,” he says as continues driving, “don’t worry about money. I’m handling it.” Levi reaches over and taps on her arm with the backs of his knuckles, but she keeps her eyes on the phone in her hands. “I appreciate it kiddo, just do me a favor and keep your grades up for scholarships, alright? I’ll take care of the rest.” 

“But Levi, you--” she begins, but Levi interrupts her again. He doesn’t want to encourage her, not when her future is on the line. 

He makes his voice curious as they turn into their apartment complex. “Who even dared you to do that something like that? Not gonna lie, I kinda wish I thought of it when I was in school.” 

Isabel doesn’t answer right away, just taps away at her phone as it buzzes and trills at her. She responds as they pull up and park, slinging her backpack over her shoulder while she shoves open the car door. 

“No one _specific_ dared me to do it,” she says, following him inside and into the elevator. “I’m playing this game called Nerve. It’s like--it’s like this big, statewide game of truth or dare without the truth. You get followers the more you do and they come up with your dares.” The elevator stops on three and they head down the hallway to their door. “Sometimes the dares are random, sometimes they’re based off the stuff you like on your Facebook and places like that. They compile a profile for you and it goes on from there.” 

“So,” Levi says, unlocking the door, “you took a dare from random people and they paid you.” He gives her a pointed look and tosses the keys on the side table. “You know how stupid that sounds right? And dangerous? How did they pay you for the dare?”

Isabel locks the door behind her and sighs in exasperation. “It’s just a game, bro, relax.” He glares at her, and she at least has the decency to look a  _ little  _ apologetic as she drops down onto their couch. “They sent the money straight to my bank account.” 

Levi recoils a bit at that. His sister isn’t normally this idiotic. “Is,  _ really?  _ You just gave them your information, just like that? How do you know you can trust these people? You’ve got savings in there. What if they could just take it anytime they want?” He’s pissed off, royally pissed off. A dumb prank is one thing, but this is another fucking thing entirely. 

Isabel tosses her phone onto the cushion next to her and crosses her arms; her mouth settling into an angry pout. “I’m not an idiot Levi.”

“I beg to fucking differ,” he snaps at her, and immediately regrets it. Isabel stares at him with hurt eyes and he sighs loudly, rubbing a hand across his forehead as he drops down beside her. “Shit. Look, I didn’t--” 

“I get it, okay?” He watches her arms unfold, wincing as she digs her fingers into the couch at either side of her knees. “I know it’s not a job or anything, but it seemed like fun and I thought I could--” she pauses to take a shaky breath and underneath all that  _ pissed,  _ Levi feels like shit. He hates making her upset. “I was just trying to help. I didn’t think about that other stuff.” Isabel stands up as she speaks; grabs her phone as she turns away from him to hide her face. Levi catches her hand, but she doesn’t turn around.

“Is, I’m sorry. Don’t be upset, alright? You’re not an idiot.” He squeezes her hand. “I know that you want to help, I do. But if you really want to, let’s talk about something small-time, okay? I don’t know what this Nerve thing is, but it seems risky and I  _ do not  _ want you getting fucked over because of me.” 

Isabel’s silent for a minute before she rasps out a shaky “okay” and slides her hand out of his, pressing her phone to her chest with her other. “I hear you.” She turns slightly and gives Levi a small smile, which he returns before standing up and ruffling her messy red hair. “Stop,” she says, laughing as she pushes his hand away from her, “I’m gonna go do homework, okay?” 

Levi nods, satisfied with their talk. “Yeah, good idea, Is.” 

\-----

The rest of the day passes by quickly for Levi. He mostly spends it cleaning while Isabel hangs out in her room, chipping away at the mountain of make-up work she has thanks to her suspension. He plays music as he does, singing low and off-key to himself while he straightens the room and works his way through loads of laundry. 

Sometime around noon, Isabel tiredly slinks into the kitchen for food. It’s normal, Levi knows, for teenagers to resemble zombies on a regular basis. His sister is no exception, despite her excitable and often obnoxiously loud demeanor. Yet Levi can see she’s still upset from earlier. She doesn’t greet him or even look at him. The idea of helping clearly meant a lot to her, though he’d hoped her frustration would have gone by now thanks to their earlier conversation. 

She disappears shortly after, and he finishes scrubbing at the last pot soon enough to make himself a sandwich. Other than a last load of laundry that has to be switched and folded, his chores are done, and when he finishes eating, Levi heads into his bedroom with a cup of tea and a book. He knows Isabel needs space, that it’s best to just leave her alone until she’s ready. So he keeps to himself, reading until he hears a knock at the door. He doesn’t realize he’s been at it for hours until he gets up and taps his phone on his way to the door and it lights up with a notification and the message that it’s a little after five. 

Isabel’s on the other side of the door when he opens it, her hair pulled up into pigtails and a bunch of takeout menus in her hands. 

“You hungry?” She asks with a grin, and waves the menus temptingly in front of him. “I’m buying.” 

Levi leans against the door frame and smirks at her teasingly, but it melts into a smile as he nods his head and follows her out into the living room to choose. 

An hour later they’re curled in their own corners of the couch, bento boxes from their favorite Japanese restaurant settled in their laps, and the next episode of Grey’s Anatomy queued up on the TV. Isabel is still quieter than usual, but he chalks that up to her feeling bad about earlier. She's out and spending time with him and that makes Levi feel like things are okay. At the very least, this whole Nerve thing seems to be behind them, now that she's had time to relax. Levi knows he’ll work things out like he always does, but he acknowledges that it might not be such a bad idea having Is get a job, for both their sakes. 

They’re three episodes in before Isabel’s mood finally perks up and she returns to her normally exuberant behavior, yelling with him at the television. Levi gets up after the fourth episode to clear their dinner. He hears Isabel’s phone go off as he’s rinsing off a plate and when he heads back to the living room, she’s gone, though he can hear her speaking faintly in her room. 

He sighs in resignation. Being abandoned by his teenage sister is nothing new, and Levi is fine with that. He contemplates going back into his room but decides against it, settling himself across the couch with a beer in his hands and the seventh  _ Star Wars _ on the television instead. 

Isabel comes out about 20 minutes into the film, right when Finn is helping his boyfriend Poe--Levi has watched this movie enough to be sure they’re boyfriends or at least they’re going to be--escape from the First Order’s destroyer. Isabel slumps herself over the back of the couch and raps her knuckles gently on Levi’s stomach.

“Hey big brother,” she says sweetly, and if Levi hadn’t known her all her life, he might have missed the exaggerated rise in her voice. As it is, he can’t help but laugh because unfortunately for Isabel, he knows her  _ too well _ , and she only ever calls him that when she wants something. 

“What do you want?” His voice is exasperated but amused, and he keeps his eyes on the movie as he speaks. 

To her credit, Isabel doesn’t beat around the bush, knowing full well she’s caught. “Am I grounded?”

“You’re done with Nerve right? This whole thing,” he waves his hand. “No shit like this is going to happen again.” It’s more of a statement than a question. 

“Totally.” 

“Then I guess you’re not.” He sits up, taking a swig of his beer. “Why?”

“Well that was Farlan and there’s a party at his friend’s house in LA tomorrow night, so I was hoping…” She trails off, but her pleading, puppy dog eyes continue their assault. 

“You wanna go.” 

Her next sentence is infinitely more direct than the last. “And borrow the car.” 

“I should be grounding you.” And it’s true, she got herself in trouble, as stupidly funny as that trouble was, so he  _ should  _ be punishing her. But fortunately for Isabel, Levi’s never been so black and white. 

“Is that a yes?”

“Yeah.” 

“And I can borrow the car?”

“I guess so. Not like I have anywhere to be anyway. But Is, I swear to god, anything happens to that car and I’ll abandon you in the desert.” 

Isabel squeals, reaching down over the back of the couch to wrap her arms around Levi’s head. 

“I’m a shit guardian,” he grumbles. He holds his beer out of her way to avoid spilling.

“Stop, you’re the best and you know it.” She gives him a kiss on the cheek, then pulls back and runs off to her room. 

“Homework done first, you little brat!”

That night, Levi goes to bed with mixed feelings. On one hand, he’s okay. He and Isabel have talked things out about work and Nerve, and she’s fine now. That’s really all that matters to him. On the other, he feels like shit. If things had been different, if he’d worked harder, made more money--did something with himself more than fixing cars and bussing tables, his sister wouldn’t have felt the need to get mixed up in something that could’ve been dangerous just to help him out. It’s true that they’re living pretty much paycheck to paycheck right now, but they get by and they’re happy and that’s the most Levi can hope for given the circumstances. 

\-----

Levi wakes before sunrise with an itch under his skin, one that has him up and throwing on a pair of sweats for a morning run. He’s got the urge to do something but he doesn’t know what, so he focuses on his breathing and the thud of his sneakers on the sidewalk as he makes his way out of the complex and down to the park. He makes it nearly five miles, lap after lap around the park’s lake, before the urge subsides and he feels calm enough to sit down on a bench and breathe. With all the hours he works, Levi never really has time to do things like this. His days are a mess of fixing cars and waiting tables and trying to sleep without much luck, so it feels good to just get away from life and watch the sun come up. 

When he comes home, Isabel is already awake and putting away the dishes. He kicks off his shoes and heads in for a glass of water, leaning against the counter next to her as she shelves their plates. 

“Morning bro,” she says with a smile, and it’s another one of those things that just  _ so Isabel _ , he has to laugh. Because this smile is one of those that doesn’t do its job, doesn’t hide how excited she is, even though he knows that’s what she’s trying to do. It’s a smile that twitches at the corners, mirrors just how its wearer feels: like she’s about to burst into the living embodiment of a grin and dance like an idiot around the house. It makes him smile in turn, though his falls more into the category of ‘smirk’ than anything else. 

“You look like a fucking goofball trying keep that smile in check.” He rolls his shoulders as he leans, watching as she starts putting the bowls away, stacked together just like he taught her. 

“Shut up.” Isabel tries and fails to keep the smile from spilling into a grin. “I’m really excited.” She places the last of the glasses in the cabinet and looks over at him, drumming her fingers on the edge of the sink. “Thanks again for letting me go.”  Levi nods, then chugs the last of his water and sets down the glass with a light  _ clink _ . 

“Sure, kiddo,” he says, crossing his arms. “You don’t have to clean up or do my chores, you know. I said it was fine if you went, you don’t have to kiss my ass for it.” 

“Yeah, but I’m gonna have a good night tonight, so you should too.” 

“I do have fun cleaning. Give me a beer and a duster and I’m set.”

Isabel groans and looks up at the ceiling. “Ugh,  _ I know _ .” She opens the drawer between them and starts putting away the silverware. “You’re a freak, but you’re my brother and I love you.” 

“Aw.” His voice is teasing as he reaches over with one hand and tugs her head down to kiss her temple. “I love you too, you little shit.” 

Isabel gives him a quick smile, then takes one whiff of him and shoves him away, her nose wrinkling.

“Ugh, you fucking stink.” 

Levi drops his jaw in mock outrage and points a scolding finger at Isabel. “Oi! Watch your fucking language, you infant.” 

She sticks her tongue out at him and shuts the drawer, finished with her task. “I will if you will,  _ old man.” _

“Respect your elders, heathen,” he says, then turns and heads off to shower. 

\-----

The rest of the day passes by quickly for them both. With nothing to do around the house, Levi finishes his novel, what turns out to be a surprisingly decent sequel to one of his favorite books, and Isabel gets most of her homework done, all before lunch. They make sandwiches and hunker down in the living room, Levi settled in the armchair and Isabel spread out on the couch. He flicks through channels for a bit, stopping once or twice on something interesting while Is messes with her endlessly buzzing phone. Levi scoffs at her every so often; he’d known his sister did pretty well for herself in terms of friends, but not like this. 

Eventually he finds something he deems worthy of watching, some cryptid hunter with a handycam and hilariously horrible acting skills. It’s a marathon and that’s good enough for him on a day off. Is thinks so too, and for a while, they fall into their groove, cackling at the hunter’s overly enthusiastic discovery of what is most definitely  _ not  _ a yeti footprint, or a chupacabra,  _ or  _ a real picture of mothman. It’s not until Levi’s halfway through explaining his own analysis of the show’s Jersey Devil search that he realizes Isabel has fallen asleep, which means for a good ten minutes or so, he’s been talking to himself. Immediately he feels like a rambling old man, his words falling on the deaf ears of a captive audience. 

He  _ could  _ let her sleep, payback for making him feel old, but he’s not an idiot. Teenagers love to primp and shit, and Isabel will lose her mind if he doesn’t wake her up in time to get ready. Like the good big brother he is, he gets up, his footsteps silent as he goes to his sister. “Time to get up kiddo,” he says, shaking her shoulder lightly. For normal people that would work, but of course, his sister sleeps through everything. He ends up having to scream in her ear, and Isabel flails and rolls off the couch as she startles awake. 

“Holy--I’m up, I’m up!” Levi shakes his head, his laugh a series of sharp exhales as he watches his sister try and fail to extricate herself from her blanket. He takes pity on her, grabbing the corner of the blanket so she can roll out of it. 

“Get out of there, you dork.” He says, his voice low and amused. Isabel glares at him with pursed lips, but her expression dissolves into a smile as she reaches her hand out towards him, her silent request undercut with laughter. 

“ _ Lazy ass _ ,” Levi grumbles, but he pulls her up anyway and she giggles as she pops up with an exaggerated jump, just like she used to do when they were younger. It makes him nostalgic, makes him miss when things were easier and real life was a thing he thought about but didn’t practice. But he’s stuck in the middle of it, and now at least, as he watches his sister head off to get ready, Levi can admit how proud he is to have kept them afloat so far. Things aren’t the best right now, but they’re making ends meet and that’s pretty damn good for what they’re working with. 

Before Levi knows it, it’s time for Isabel to head out. He’s leaning over the countertop, scrolling through his phone when he hears her door open, her voice carrying through the apartment as she heads into the living room. Levi follows her in, waits while she hangs up the phone and begins searching frantically for something in the couch. He spots her wallet on the end table in front of him, snatching it and holding it up with a small wave. “Looking for this?” She breathes a sigh of relief; comes around to grab the wallet, but he pulls it behind his back and out of her reach with a lightly scolding ‘tch’. “Tell me the rules.”

Isabel smirks and rolls her eyes at him, then repeats the list she's heard a dozen times before. “No unprotected sex, no drugs, if I drink I stay there,” she says, ticking them off on her fingers. “And if I get in trouble I call  _ you  _ first, then the cops.” 

Levi rolls his own eyes at her rehearsed tone, but she’s never broken a rule and he trusts her, so he holds out her wallet with a nod. “Alright, have fun, Is. Tell Farlan I said hi.” Isabel smiles and takes her wallet, kissing Levi’s cheek as she does.

“Thanks, bro!” She grabs her jacket and keys and heads for the door. “See you later!”

“Keep in touch, yeah?” he calls out as the door opens, and gets a quick ‘you got it,’ before the door shuts and he’s alone in the quiet of the apartment again. He doesn’t know it’ll be the last bit of calm he has for the night. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated. Thank you for reading!


	2. Kiss

Despite everything that’s happened to Isabel and him, Levi sometimes forgets that life doesn’t always do what you want it to, that the ground falls out from beneath your feet when you’re not ready and the best you can do is try to slow the fall. It happens when things have been good for a while, when tips have been plenty and shifts at the shop have been busy and he can pay bills without worry. It happens when his hard work pays off and he has a little extra money at the end of the month to put towards Isabel’s future.

But it also happens when things are overwhelming, when he’s so busy trying to keep their heads above the water that he forgets to pay attention to the shit he should. Like his email, which he never remembers to check. It’s why he misses a _very important_ email, one that pulls the rug out from under him and has him flying face first into a frustrated panic.

Of course it’s an email, not a letter, which would have actually gotten to him in time to fucking _do something_ about. It’s from the apartment complex’s management company. Or _new_ management company, Levi realizes as he reads through the email for the 104th time, and he hates them already because in just one ‘polite and professional’ notice, they’ve royally fucked him over.

Not only is this new company, some Zackly Management bullshit, taking over, but they’re hiking the rent up; $125.00 more a month, plus raised utilities. They’ve oh-so-kindly given the tenants time to vacate, but only with 30 days notice and Levi’s way past that now. He can’t just up and leave, and it kills him because it’s the most passive aggressively worded ‘agree to this or get the fuck out’ notice he’s ever seen. He’s pissed at them sure, but more pissed at himself for not thinking to look at his account at a time when this shit could have been handled. Levi lets out frustrated growl.

“Fuck,” he says through gritted teeth, his eyes closed tight as he thinks of a way through this. He needs money, but like hell is he gonna ask his friends for help again; he’s only just finished paying Erwin and Mike back for the last time.

Levi paces the room, digging his fingers into his hair and pulling at the strands. He refuses to make a burden of himself, yet again, so it doesn’t matter how, he needs to find a way. He knows he could probably ask for more shifts at the diner, but there’s no guarantee he’ll get them, and more than that, he hates the idea of taking all the extra shifts when Petra and the others there need money just as bad as he does. Erwin is already giving him all the time he can at the shop. He could get another job, but that would mean no sleep and he knows himself well enough to know that would probably kill him, and he will _not_ leave Isabel on her own like that. His fingers itch with the need to do something, to halt the rising desperation he feels.

Then a thought enters his mind, a dumb, dangerous thought, and it’s one he hates but can’t deny might work. He knows the game his sister was playing sounds stupid, knows that he has no real idea what it is and he just chewed Isabel out for being a part of it, but she _did_ say that it was money. Fast money too, from what it sounded like, and even though he feels disgusted at his own hypocrisy, Levi lets the thought grow larger and larger. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t curious to begin with and this situation only makes that worse.

The only problem is that he has absolutely _no idea_ how to access it. He has no idea where the fuck you would even find something like this, and he doubts it’s just _on_ the internet for anyone to see. How had Is found it in the first place? Levi can’t just ask her , and he huffs in annoyance, slamming his palms down to grip the back of the couch as he thinks of what to do.

Then he remembers--Isabel’s laptop. If he’s going to find Nerve anywhere, it’s going to be on there. He looks over his shoulder at Is’s door and an uneasy feeling worms its way into his stomach. It’s a feeling he usually manages to avoid by having an open and respectful relationship with his sister, and it sticks there, nagging as he considers violating her privacy.

But Levi’s desperate and he knows it. Isabel will just have to forgive him because it’s the only thing he can do for them right now. So he turns, resigned, and heads into his sister’s bedroom to find the computer.

He finds it on her desk, recoiling with an audible ‘tch’ as he turns it on and is visually assaulted by a collage of Isabel and Farlan kissing. He clicks the center of the screen and the pictures are whisked away, only to be replaced by a password prompt which has him pausing because, no, _goddamn it no_ , he didn’t even think about a password. Aside from a few important accounts he’s got no use for them, and Levi doesn’t even know where to begin with Isabel’s. Or _maybe_ he does, he realizes as the prompt times out and the collage settles back on screen. His sister is a teenage girl after all, and while she is different then most, there’s still a few stereotypical things that she does do and he hopes this is one of them.

It takes Levi fifteen tries, _fifteen_ bullshit combinations of the couple’s names before he finally gets it right with _Is+Far22_ ; he’s the luckiest son of a bitch alive that Farlan asked Isabel out on her birthday.

He clicks on the colorful Chrome icon and prays to the gods that Isabel didn’t think to clear her history, holding his breath as he types ‘Nerve’ into the search. The second it takes for something to come up feels like an hour and the result isn’t what he expects. It’s not _nerve.com_ or something remotely obvious. Instead the search redirects to the word _dark,_ followed by some jumble of characters and--the air rushes out of Levi as he catches sight of the word _nerve_ tacked on at the end.

The site is simple enough when it opens, a black background with the words ‘Player’ and ‘Watcher’ written and framed in neon. For some reason it makes Levi hesitate; it feels off, like it’s a neon tinged void and he’s about to get lost in it. The cursor hovers over ‘Player’, waiting for him to make a move. His choices are limited, and even though he wishes things were different, Levi knows what he has do. He grits his teeth and with a sharp, determined exhale, throws himself down the rabbit hole.

Levi doesn’t know what he expected. A signup form, a liability waiver, whatever it was, it certainly isn’t the sound of a voice greeting him, its electronic tones pumping through the speakers.

“Hello! Welcome to Nerve! You have chosen Player.” The voice says, and a video starts as it speaks. “Nerve is a direct democracy. Watchers decide your dares. The two Players with the most Watchers by the end of regulation will advance to the final round, where the winner takes all.” The montage of images on the screen picks up speed; a guy caught streaking, a man with a video camera and a crown all streak past until it settles on bright green rotating dollar signs. _“Watchers can watch from anywhere, but they are encouraged to film live, so don’t be alarmed. There are three rules: one, all dares must be filmed on the Player’s phone; two, there are only two ways to be eliminated, fail or bail; three, snitches get stitches. Thank you for keeping Nerve a secret. Good luck, Player!”_

Levi stares at the computer, brow furrowed as the words _‘good luck’_ rotate on the black screen. A second later, his phone vibrates in his back pocket. He pulls it out, eyes narrowed as he gazes suspiciously at the screen. A small box labeled _‘ENTER ID’_ appears, along with a place to scan his fingerprint, and Levi scoffs. Seeing the process is different than hearing about it, and this is definitely not some fucking kids’ game. His index finger hovers over the print--he knows this is probably his last chance to back out, because once he’s in, he sure as hell doesn’t plan on bailing--but he’s already made up his mind. The phone lights up as he presses his finger to the pad.

The computer brightens with a ping, and in the center of the screen is more neon lettering, yellow and purple in the sea of black. _‘_ **_(@Cap)_ ** _\- Are you ready for your first dare?’_

Levi huffs out an incredulous laugh, eyeing the word _‘accept’_ that is his only option. “Not like you’re giving me much a fucking choice there,” he mumbles as he clicks .

When his phone doesn’t immediately ring or vibrate, Levi figures it’s part of the ‘more followers, more dares’ thing Isabel mentioned. He shuts the browser and computer down, then leaves the room. It’s only two minutes later that his phone does go off, the same bright text delivering a new message.

 _‘Go to Scout’s Diner.’_ A timer appears below it, thirty minutes that immediately starts ticking down. “Shit.” Isabel has the car, and he knows for a _fact_ he can’t run to the diner in that amount of time. He’s _tried_ . Levi checks the time and swears. It’s 7:45. He can’t call Petra because she’s working at the diner right now, and Mike’s probably there too. He calls the only person left that he trusts. _28:32_.

Erwin picks up on the second ring, his deep voice booming through the phone’s small speaker. “ _Levi! How are you this evening?_ ”

“No time, Eyebrows. Two questions--,” Levi speaks fast, “Are you home, and are you busy?”

Erwin, to his credit, doesn’t even ask why. “ _Yes and no._ ”

“Thank fuck. Okay, I need you to come get me and bring me to Scout’s as fast as you can.”

“ _I’ll be right there,_ ” Erwin says and hangs up. Levi breathes deeply in relief, tapping his phone to check the timer. _27:46._ He calculates Erwin’s ETA in his head, figures he’s got about 10 minutes until he has to be down by the door and ready to go. His ratty old pajamas are not the clothes he wants to spend the night being filmed in, so he rushes into his room to change, throwing on a pair of tapered black jeans and a black v-neck, and heads into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He spares a glance in the mirror when he’s done--the bags under his eyes are horrible as usual, but other than that he doesn’t look too much like shit. Either way, it’s the best his Watchers are going to get.

Erwin announces his arrival with a text a few minutes later and Levi rushes to the door, shoving his feet into his boots as fast as he can, then he’s off, passing the elevator to rush down four flights of steps to save time. He jogs through the lobby and out the front door to where Erwin is parked, car idling at the curb. Levi slides in and with a quick nod, they’re off, Erwin foregoing questions in favor of hitting the gas. _18:39._

\-----

Scout’s is bustling when they arrive. As Erwin rolls into a spot near the door and the timer hits _3:43_ , Levi’s nerves flare. It’s bullshit; there’s no reason to be nervous. He’s capable. Levi has always trusted in himself to do what needs to be done. So why is he nervous? _Stop_ , he tells himself, and shoves those slight nerves down beneath the drive and desperation that got him here.

He glances at Erwin. The man hadn’t done more than hum curiously when Levi had filled him in on the way over, but now Levi finds him staring back, his thick eyebrows knitted together like he’s trying to read his mind. His friend must sense his hesitation; Erwin’s always been a perceptive pain in the ass, and this is no different.

His voice is laced with that concerned-but-trying-not-to-be tone he always has when it comes to Levi. “You really want to do this?” _3:19._ It’s fucked, but it’s happening. _No regrets._

He gives a quick nod of his head and reaches over to open the door. “Come on,” he says gruffly, “three minutes left.”

They head straight for Petra’s section once inside, settling into a booth in the back corner. Levi palms his phone, fingers tapping the screen to confirm his arrival to Nerve.

It vibrates back at him almost immediately, the neon letters displaying his next move in the sequence.

Levi groans, and Erwin chuckles, a smirk pulling at his mouth. “It can’t be _that_ bad.”

In reply, Levi reads the text aloud. “ _Kiss a stranger for five seconds - $100._ ”

Erwin’s mouth forms a silent ‘oh’, understanding flitting across his features. Of the things it could have been, it’s actually not that bad. It’s not like Levi has never kissed anyone before, he just hasn’t kissed _many_ , and he prefers to actually know someone before swapping germs with them. Erwin knows Levi’s preferences, but he encourages him anyway, shrugging his shoulders as he does.

“For Isabel, right?” Erwin supplies, and Levi sighs at that. He hits the _‘accept’_ button; it’s his first legitimate dare, and for a hundred dollars, well a few germs isn’t such a bad trade. The timer re-appears, this time with a short five minutes lighting the screen.

“Shit, alright. Here,” Levi says in a quick, gruff voice, sliding the phone towards Erwin “The thing said it has to be filmed on my phone or it doesn’t count. Now help me find someone who looks like they bathe regularly.” He would just kiss Erwin and get it over with, but he has a feeling this jacked up game would know. Together they scan the diner, Levi taking one side and Erwin the other. He sees an elderly couple, a family with a few kids, but no one he’d just walk up and lay one on. He looks quickly at his phone. _4:17._

“What about him?” Erwin asks, and Levi turns to see who he’s pointing at. The person’s face is hidden behind a book, but from the glimpse of the body and the shaggy brown hair, Levi thinks they _might_ be a young guy, which is good enough for him.

Erwin clears his throat, “He’s attractive enough.”

Levi scoffs. “His face is behind a book.” It’s not even just a book. It’s _1984_ , one of Levi’s favorites and one of the only ones he actually goes back to time and time again. At least this nameless, faceless person has good taste in novels.

“Trust me,” Erwin says, “I saw him earlier. He’s more than adequate for the task.”

Levi _tchs_ and tilts his head, trying to peer around the book to see the guy’s face, but it’s like he knows what Levi’s doing; he shifts the book this way and that as he turns a page. What Levi can see is long, splayed legs under the table, and a pair of toned, sun-kissed arms where his elbows rest on its surface.

He hears the thud of Erwin’s fingers as they tap on the table behind him, his voice concerned as he conveys the time left on Levi’s phone: _3:08._

“Alright, alright,” Levi says with a slight shake of the head. He’s annoyed with himself for the ridiculous hesitation. He’s got a job to do, but he pauses, nervous to push past the safety of his usual monotony. He grits his teeth and stands, smoothing his shirt as he levels Erwin with a cool stare. “You better get _every second_ , Eyebrows.”  

Erwin responds with a knowing smirk and picks up Levi’s phone. He taps at it, then turns it on its side to get ready to film and nods his head towards the guy.

With a purse of his lips, Levi turns on his heel and makes his way down the aisle. He falters in his steps when his intended victim lowers the book, and a set of warm green eyes meets his own. They’re attached to a face that Levi doesn’t expect, but he finds that Erwin’s ‘attractive enough’ doesn’t even begin to cover it.

This guy is gorgeous. Even under the cool tint of the diner’s lights, his skin looks warm, and Levi wants to run his fingers along the strong jawline and down the column of his neck and--Levi coughs as he rights himself and makes the final few steps to the table, the guy smiling at him the whole way. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, wills himself to say ‘hello’, ‘how are you’, anything coherent, but he’s actually speechless, his confidence muddled by nerves and the guy’s unexpected attractiveness. Lucky for him, his victim seems to have no such problem, and his voice is strong and clear as he peers up at Levi.

“Hey there,” he says, his mouth spreading into a bright, toothy smile that stretches up towards his eyes. Levi doesn’t, _can’t_ answer at first, just turns to glance back at Erwin with a quirked eyebrow that says ‘Attractive enough? Are you fucking kidding me?’

The kid--Green Eyes, Levi decides--turns himself, back pressing against the wall as he looks at Levi with light concern. “You okay?”

Erwin holds up two of his fingers, tapping against the watch on his wrist _._

 _Shit._ He turns back to Green Eyes. _Say something._ “George Orwell,” Levi says awkwardly, rubbing a hand against the back of his undercut.

Green Eyes’ smile slips. “Excuse me?” Levi looks at him, puzzled, and gestures at his book. He follows Levi’s gesture quietly, eyes widening as he remembers the book he just put down.

“Oh-- _oh_ , uh, yeah, Orwell is excellent, really great.”

Levi laughs because it’s a bold-faced lie if he ever heard one. He has to hand it to him though, he tried, and if wasn’t for the pathetically forced enthusiasm of his voice, Levi might have believed him.

“Never actually read him, have you?”

Green Eyes mimics Levi’s earlier gesture, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. “Ah, no. I haven’t.”

At that, Levi snorts and shakes his head slightly, because this whole thing is ridiculous, and it doesn’t even really matter that the guy hasn’t read the book. He’s gorgeous and not an old man or with his family and actually perfect for what Levi has to do and if Levi wasn’t being so, _whatever_ he is right now, he would just get this over with and run back to the table and--

“You know what? _Fuck it_ ,” he says under his breath, and dips down to press his lips against the kid’s; and somehow it works. Green Eyes’ mouth is parted and Levi’s lips fit softly between his own. He leans into the kiss, counts five seconds, slowly to be sure,  and then it’s over. They pull apart, Levi straightening himself as the guy slowly opens his eyes and his mouth splits into a soft smile.

He opens his mouth to say something that Levi doesn’t hear, because he’s already gone, slipping into the booth across from Erwin with a nod and a grunt. “Did you get it all?”

Erwin slides him the phone in answer. The screen is still black, but this time the bright yellow text beams with the words ‘Dare Complete’. Levi closes his eyes and exhales in relief, only to open them again as the phone ‘kachings’ in his hand and more text fills its small screen. He reads it out loud: “Levi, $100 has been wired to your account.”

Erwin chuckles lightly. “Well that was fast.”

“Very,” Levi says, skeptical, and again he finds himself glad that he made Isabel quit. He opens up his phone, and checks his bank account. Sure enough, there’s a $100 direct deposit. The relief that floods through him is instantaneous. He’s content to risk himself here, but that was a little too quick for him to be completely comfortable, though he has no plans of stopping now. His hesitation is overshadowed only by the quiet thrill that courses through him--at _earning_ that money so quickly, and at the kiss, as chaste and random as it was.

He chances a look behind him, but when he turns, Green Eyes isn’t there, and Levi feels a foreign pang in his chest as he realizes he probably won’t see the kid again. His thoughts are interrupted though as a familiar head of strawberry blonde hair pops up next to the table. Petra’s smile is tired as Erwin slides over to give her space next to him, and she sags into the booth, immediately leaning her head against his shoulder.

“Hello boys,” she says, her voice soft with exhaustion. She meets Levi’s gaze, and the pointed look she gives him is so familiar that it makes him huff out a laugh; clearly his attitude is rubbing off on her. Her words are muffled as she wraps her arms around Erwin’s bicep, pressing her face into the long sleeve of his shirt. “So what was that about?”

“What was what about?” Levi feigns innocence, checking his phone. There’s no new dare yet, and when he looks up, Petra is giving him a look that lets him know she saw and it’s time to fill her in.

“Isabel got herself involved with this thing, it’s called Nerve--dares for cash, shit like that.” Levi says, resting his elbows on the table. “It sounds idiotic and it is, so I talked her out of it, but then our new shitbag management company at the apartments raised rent, and I sure as hell wasn’t bothering you people for more money.” He tosses his hand nonchalantly, then regrets it when both Petra and Erwin narrow their eyes. He clears his throat and looks down at his hands. “So I joined the game, what you just saw was my first dare.”

When he looks up, his friends are both staring at him. Erwin wears the same analytical expression as always, like he’s trying to read Levi. Petra’s face is mixed, caught between what Levi assumes is frustration with him and the worry he knows so well.

She opens her mouth to speak, then sighs and unwinds her arms from Erwin and sits up. She looks resigned now, like she knows he’ll do it no matter what she says. Still, she asks, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Levi scoffs at how alike his friends are. He’s appreciative of the silent offer, of the endless support his friends give. But this game is just a temporary job. He can handle it.

“Yes, Petra. I’m sure.”

She nods and next to her, Erwin looks at something over Levi’s shoulder, his expression simultaneously concerned and impressed.

Levi ignores him at first, tapping at his phone to see if he’s missed something, anything about another dare, but the app is blank, displaying only his username and the total he’s earned so far. Then he sees Erwin nudge Petra with his arm, and _that_ gets his attention.

“Um...Levi--”

He looks up to see Petra’s finger pointing at something behind him, or _someone_ , Levi realizes, as he twists his torso and catches sight of the guy he _just kissed_ \--stepping up on top of a table. Levi quirks an eyebrow, first because _what the fuck is he thinking, that’s disgusting, people_ eat _on those tables_ , and second because Green Eyes is staring and pointing at _him_ as the stereo system is turned up and the lyrics of Eddie Money’s “Take Me Home Tonight” filter through the diner’s speakers.

“Oh _for the love_ \--what does he think he’s doing?” Levi asks. Green Eyes is clearly out of his mind, but that doesn’t stop the trickle of amused heat that settles in his chest, even as he wants to both shrink down in the booth _and_ smack the kid for being ridiculous.

“I think,” Erwin says slowly, “that it's a dare.”

He’s right. Behind the section divider is a young woman with a phone, and she’s following every move that Green Eyes makes; every move that takes him closer to Levi.

Levi’s eyes drift back up to him. He’s actually singing as he steps over the back of a booth, still pointing at Levi. “ _Take me home tonight, I don’t wanna let you go til ya see the light.”_ He’s so into it--his act and staring at Levi that he forgets to look down at the back of the last booth, nearly tripping over it until he rights himself. Levi snorts at the goofy grimace that ghosts over the kid’s features. He hops off the table and lands in front of Levi, Erwin, and Petra as the song ends, his voice carrying off with the last of the fading lyrics. “ _Be my little baby._ ” He grins down at Levi, tips his head up in a silent request and Levi shakes his head with a small smile, sliding further into the booth.

“So that--” Green Eyes starts, but he’s interrupted by a young woman, who holds out a phone with a quick ‘good job’ and then leaves. He turns back to Levi, his expression satisfied. “M’sorry. So that was fun, yeah?”

It takes Levi a minute and kick in the shin to respond, because even though he heard the words, his focus has narrowed to the spot where Green Eyes’ warm skin presses against his own. It’s stupid and Levi doesn’t know what he’s doing but there’s something about this kid and when he looks up, there’s three sets of eyes staring at him. He scowls at his friends and the attention, his voice deadpan. “Yeah, a shit ton of fun.”

“Aw, come on. Kissing me couldn’t have been _that_ bad.”

Levi smirks, looking directly into his eyes. “No, it wasn’t.” There’s a laugh across the table, and Levi kicks out, smirk settling deeper when he hears a low ‘ow’ and Petra’s light laugh.

The kid’s smile twitches as he tries to hold back his own laugh, and he holds out his hand to Levi. “Good, ‘cause I liked kissing you. My name’s Eren.”

 _Gorgeous and straight to the point_ , Levi thinks, and he’s glad he chose Eren to be his victim, no matter his dubious use of novels. He shakes Eren’s hand, ignoring the way even a simple handshake sends a spark through him. “I’m Levi,” he nods his head towards his two silent friends, “that’s Erwin and Petra.”

“Hi,” Eren says, reaching over to shake their hands as well.

Petra just smiles at him, but it’s Erwin who makes a remark. “That was quite a dare.”

Eren laughs, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah, it was. Seems people like to watch me make a fool of myself. But hey,” he says with a shrug of his shoulders, “at least the pay is good!”

Levi starts to respond, but stops as both his and Eren’s phones go off, chirping as the bright yellow Nerve text lights up the screens. Levi snatches his phone, regretting letting Eren distract him even though he didn’t miss anything. The message says, ‘ _Go to Los Angeles with him._ _$200._ ’ If the game didn’t creep him out before, it does now. He remembers what the introductions said earlier: Watchers do exactly what their name suggests. He ignores his discomfort  and meets Eren’s eyes with a questioning look. Eren slides him his phone showcasing the duplicate message.

“Well?” Petra asks, staring between the two of them. “What does it say?”

Levi tilts his head towards Eren. “Go to Los Angeles with him.”

Erwin gives him a pointed look, “Are you sure you want to do that?”

“If I don’t do it, I fail. I’ll be out of the game.”

This time it’s Petra who speaks. “Yes, but don’t you think--”

Eren clears his throat and slides out of the booth. “I uh, I’ll wait outside okay, Levi?” He looks over at the pair, “Nice to meet you.” With that he’s off, and Levi turns, watching as Eren heads through the section and out the front door.

“Really?” Levi says when he turns back to face his friends. He’s a little annoyed at them. “You couldn’t just let me handle that?”

“Levi, you can’t blame us for being worried,” Erwin says. Levi knows it’s supposed to be placating but it only annoys him further. “You’ve just met this guy, and this game is--”

“This game is _my_ responsibility,” Levi says, knocking his knuckles on the table. “I hear you, alright? I get it, but if I didn’t want to do it, I would have declined immediately, you know that.” He gets up and looks down at the both of them, trying and failing to avoid Petra’s concerned look. His expression softens, and he presses both of his palms on to the table’s surface. “If I come to a point where I can’t do this, trust me, you’ll be the first to know. Now I’m going to do this dare. I’ll text you when we stop.”

He doesn’t wait for a response, just turns and heads for the door. When he gets outside, he’s surprised again. Eren’s waiting for him, leaning coolly against a car Levi’s only had the pleasure of seeing a few times before. A classic 1967 Chevy Impala. It’s not in perfect condition, but it looks great for its age, and Levi nods his head as he crosses the parking lot. “Nice ride.”

Eren pushes himself off the car at the sound of Levi’s voice, turning to the side to rest his hip against the door. “Thanks,” he rubs his hand along the back of his neck, “Sorry about the bail. Things looked like they were going to get heavy.”

“Not an issue,” Levi says, waving him off. “They just care, _a lot_.”

Eren’s voice is teasing at Levi’s grumble. “Aw, poor Levi.” He smiles, stands up straighter. “No really, s’good though.”

Levi shakes his head and walks over to the passenger door. “Yeah, yeah. We gonna do this or what?” Eren takes out his phone, so Levi takes his out too, and together they press ‘ _accept_ ’.

This time they’ve got a solid _45:00_ on the timer. Levi knows they’re going to need every minute if they want to get to The Grove from here, and luckily, so does Eren. He flashes Levi a quick smile and tears open his door. Levi does the same, sliding into the space next to Eren as quickly as he can. The inside of the car is reasonably clean; the leather seats supple underneath his hands. He buckles himself in, smells cigarettes and something warm that Levi attributes to Eren.

The nerves trickle back in, making Levi vibrate with energy. It’s excitement too, an infectious kind that worms it’s way through him and settles in his stomach. Eren feels it too. Levi can tell from the way he smiles at him and starts up the car, the engine firing up loudly in the otherwise silent lot.

“Are you ready?” Eren asks, shifting the car into drive. Levi nods, settling into the seat.

“Hit it.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated. Thank you for reading!


	3. Mirror

Of all the things Petra expects from Levi, she can’t say that this situation has ever been one of them. Yet somewhere below the surface, she knows that in a way, this is exactly the sort of thing Levi would do. Taking care of Isabel has always been at the core of everything he does. The familiarity does nothing to stop Petra from worrying of course, that Levi will wear himself out in the process. Something like this is so out of the blue, so separated from his norm, she wonders whether or not he’s truly comfortable with it, or if he’s just so good at compartmentalizing that it doesn’t even matter.

Petra knows though, that Levi can take care of himself; if he were ever really in trouble, he would come to her or Erwin or Mike. _It’s just so much,_ she thinks at first, followed by _I need a cup of tea._ She glances sideways at Erwin, knows that he too is concerned for their friend, and leaves him to his thoughts, heading for the bar. When she returns it’s with two mugs in hand. She slides Erwin’s coffee across to him and he nods his thanks, reaching for and handing her the table’s bottle of honey.

Their silence is interrupted by the deep baritone of Mike’s voice. “So,” he asks, heading in their direction as he wipes his hands on a rag, “what’s the situation?”

Petra purses her lips thoughtfully. “Levi needs fast money. Instead of asking us, he’s decided to play a game based on dares to get it. He just left with another Player.”

Mike tilts his head. “Everything on the up and up?”

Erwin speaks first, “It seems like it, but I’m conflicted. This game he’s playing, it could either go very well or very badly for him.”

Petra nods, agreeing as she stirs the honey into her tea. There’s something about this whole thing that rings a bell somewhere in the back of her head. She tries to follow the thread but comes up with nothing.

“Erwin? Did Levi say whether or not the game had a name?” She can, at the very least, do some research.

“As a matter of fact he did. He called it Nerve. Why? Think you can dig something up?”

Petra is surprised to find that it sparks a memory without research, something from one of the computer science courses she took last semester. “Yes I think I can actually. I have my computer in my bag.” She says, looking up at the clock over the door. “My break’s over though.”

Mike, silent as he leans against the wall next to their booth, scans the diner. It’s pretty clear for the moment, and what few customers are left are being handled well enough by the other waitress Tricia.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mike says. “Go grab your bag.”

It’s twenty some odd minutes of looking, of Erwin and Mike silent while she works, before she reluctantly gives up. For all her experience on and around the internet, and she’s amassed quite a bit as a computer science major, Petra struggles to find something even remotely related to Nerve. Dumb kids and their dare videos yes, but nothing on the large and intricate scale that Levi’s seems to be. She has an inkling where answers might be, but it’s somewhere she's never ventured. Petra does however, know someone with vast amounts of dark-web experience, and lucky for her, the woman owes her one.

“I’m not getting anything right away, but I do have an idea. I have to get in touch with someone first.”

Erwin closes his eyes, stares up at the neon ceiling of the diner. “How fast do you think you can find out?” When he opens his eyes and looks down at her, it’s with a look Petra knows well. He’s planning something, weighing the pros and cons, probably has been the whole time they’ve been there.

“You’re going to follow him, aren’t you?” It’s not his best idea. Levi might be royally pissed if he thinks they don’t trust him, but Petra would be lying if she said she’s not tempted. Erwin doesn’t answer, and that in itself is all the answer she needs. She sighs, closing her laptop. “If you leave now, I might have something by the time you get there. Be careful please, you know how he gets.”  She slips out of the booth and Erwin follows. His expression neutral, he grabs his keys from his pocket and starts walking for the door, tossing a quick “call me when you have something” over his shoulder.

Mike helps her clear the table. “Think this runs deep?”

“I’m almost positive,” she says, following him back to the counter.

“Hanji?” he asks.

Petra nods, an amused expression settling on her face.

“Hanji.”

\-----

“I can't believe you’re only 18. You’re like a fetus.”

“Am not!” Eren responds, his voice a mix of outrage and amusement. “Why does everyone say shit like that? You— you’re what? 21? You can’t even talk, you were a baby like a minute ago.”

“23.” Levi says, staring out at the passing buildings.

“What?” Eren asks distractedly, as he tries and fails to make it around another touring bus before a line of cars speeds past, effectively trapping him in.

“I’m not 21. I’m 23, for whatever that’s worth.”

“Oh.” It’s all he says, then, “What’s the timer at?”

“ _4:29_.”

“ _Fuck._ I hate buses.”

Levi stays quiet, watching the shift of Eren’s features under the passing city lights. The last thing he needs is to be distracted during this game, and so it’s a little frustrating to him how good looking the kid is. A one off at the diner with a gorgeous guy would have been easy, but _this_ is decidedly more difficult. Even on this reasonably quick ride, Levi’s learned that Eren has a way about him, one that puts Levi at ease and makes it a simple thing to forget what they’re doing. Like they’re just on a drive and getting to know each other is all they have to worry about.

“Aha!” Eren grins and yells, the engine rumbling as he merges quickly to the left. Levi leans forward and spies the sign for The Grove with a victorious smile of his own. They’re cutting it close, but the shopping center is not far away now, and Levi can practically feel the $200 in his hand. The same excitement from before weaves its way through him. _This isn’t so bad_ , he thinks, clutching his phone. _This isn’t so bad at all._

It’s few minutes later that they arrive, Eren slipping into a spot off to the side of the crowded lot. Levi waits for Eren to reach for his own phone, and together they open up them up, waiting and watching as the yellow text changes with a buzz to confirm their success.

Eren’s laugh is warm as he snaps his fingers and turns in his seat towards Levi. “ _$200 has been wired to your account._ You got it too, right?” Levi holds up his phone in answer and Eren’s smile grows deeper, his eyes crinkling with the pull of it. It’s infectious, and Levi finds himself smiling back in the silence of the car. His cheeks are hot, something he hasn’t had to deal with for a long time. It’s embarrassing, so he turns away, pushes the door open and hops out, shutting it tightly. Behind him, he hears Eren scramble in the car, hears the clink of the seat belt as it smacks against the interior and the creak of the door as Eren whips it open. Levi breathes in the fresh air, his face cooling while he listens to Eren’s footsteps round the car.

“Levi, are you--” Eren’s interrupted by the buzz of the phone in his hand. Levi watches as Eren reads it, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. “I...,” he says, trailing off, and Levi realizes it must be another dare. Separate from him too, if the lack of notification on his own phone is any indication.

“All good, kid.” Levi reaches across the space between them, holds out his hand to Eren, who takes it with a squeeze. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Sure thing.” Eren says, letting go. He shakes the fringe out of his eyes and stares down at Levi, looks as if he wants to say something, then stops himself. He rocks back on his heels, swinging his arms at his sides and huffs out a laugh. “See ya around, I guess?”

Levi gives him a half smile, “I guess. Good luck.” Eren nods, looking down at his phone again, then presses his thumb to the screen.

“You too.” He says, backing away. “Get home safe!” And then he’s off, streaking towards the crowded center, his long legs carrying him quickly of out Levi’s sight.

Alone in the parking lot, Levi wonders what to do. Without a dare, he’s got nowhere to be. He could try to get home, knows Erwin would come get him if he called and asked. But the game brought him to Los Angeles. If he leaves, there’s a chance he might need to come back, and there’s no guarantee he’ll return in time. He stares down at the car, wraps his knuckles on the hood and thinks. Staying here is probably best, so with a last glance at the car, he heads for the shops. On the way, he checks his messages. There’s one from Isabel, checking in to let him know she’s fine and at the party. He shoots her a response, and slides his phone into his back pocket.

No sooner does he do that, that the phone goes off again. The message on it is clear and to Levi, the slightest bit alarming: ‘ _Go to Barney’s New York and try on this suit’._ It’s followed by a picture of one of the nicest suits Levi’s ever seen. He can tell it’s expensive, probably costs more than he’d make in three months. But he’s clean, and careful with shit that isn’t his, and the $500 staring at him above the ‘accept’ button is more than enough to sway him. He taps the button and the timer pops up yet again, gracing him with a relatively short twenty minutes. He ignores it though, heading for the directory map where he finds the location he needs, then moves as fast as he can to Barney’s. He’s blocked here and there by groups of people, their shopping bags heavy with the weight of purchases far more expensive than anything he’s ever bought. Levi has to push past a few more than he likes simply because of his height, and he earns a few shouts for his trouble. The Grove is much smaller than he remembers, so despite the hoard of people, the trip doesn’t take him longer than a few minutes, and soon the storefront he’s looking for comes into view. The building is bright and modern, all clean Los Angeles lines and glittering, high-end goods.

Levi checks his phone, notes the _16:41_ that glares up at him, neon yellow and challenging, and squares his shoulders, heading for the door. He’s met with a few uncertain stares upon entering, sales-people who look at him as if he doesn’t belong, customers who stare like he’s got six heads. In his own black jeans and v-neck, he knows he doesn’t look that much different than the other men he can see spot dotted around the store, and his clothes are clean, so it must just be that he looks _that_ out of place, like he’s got an aura of _‘I don’t fucking know what I’m doing or why I’m here.’_

But he does know and so he scans the room, hoping to find someone who looks like they won’t bite his head off. His savior comes in the form of an older woman, with an adorable wrinkled face and soft eyes that don’t condemn him on sight. He reads her nametag fast, and looks up, flashing her a charming smile. _14:35._

“Hi there, Ella,” he says with a wave.

She smiles back, her blue eyes warm. “Why hello, how can I help you, sweetheart?” Levi holds out his phone, zooms in on the picture so the woman can see the suit more clearly.

“Could you tell me where I can find this suit?”

She nods, pointing her finger straight up to the ceiling. “Oh you’d look _so handsom_ e in that.” Ella pats his shoulder, turning him towards the escalator. “Upstairs, hon, down the hall to the right.”

“Thanks ma’am,” he says over his shoulder, and jogs over to the escalator, taking two steps at a time as he dodges a couple of shoppers. _12:22._

The room at the end of the hall feels like a smoker’s lounge when Levi enters. Along the walls are rows of shelves and cabinets, the deep brown wood diligently filled with shoes and accessories. Behind a velvet, tied back curtain, there’s a room lined with exactly what he wants.

He starts for the room, but stops when he feels a quick tap on his shoulder. A middle aged man with glasses and a salt and pepper beard comes around to stand in front of him.

“Can I assist you with anything, sir?”

Levi holds up his phone, bouncing on his heels as he sees the timer tick down from the side of the screen.

The man straightens his glasses, peering at the picture of the suit. He turns, gesturing for Levi to follow, and passes through into the room. “Right this way.” He looks Levi up and down, then heads over to a rack, lined with just the suit he needs. “It’s unusual that we have something available in this size. A customer ordered it recently, ended up going with navy instead. Which if I do say so myself, was a much better choice,” he says with a kind smile, and holds the suit up to Levi. “You’re lucky though, this should fit you reasonably well.” The man gestures to one of two doors in the room, each in an opposite corner. “You can try it on in here.” Before he leaves, he points to the other side of the room, where a tall, three-fold mirror rests near the wall. “For when you need a look.”

Levi reaches out for the suit, taking it with a polite nod. “Thank you, you’ve been a big help sir.” He shuffles quickly into the closest room and closes the door behind him, glancing down at his phone as he does. _10:39._

The suit is even nicer in person than Levi expects it to be. It’s just the kind he would pick for himself, if he had the money or occasion to do so: solid black, with sharp lines and classic detailing and a crisp white button up to go with it. Hanging up the suit, he pulls off his boots and tugs off his own jeans and shirt, folds them lightly and lays them on the stool in the corner. From what he can tell, the old man was right: the suit fits him almost perfectly. The jacket is the slightest bit long, but it's good enough for him; it skims his torso nicely with pants that hug the lean muscle of his legs. His phone vibrates on top of his jeans, the timer reading a cool _8:20._

Levi wants to use the mirror in the room outside to get a full body shot, and if he’s right that should be enough to satisfy the dare and get him the $500. Opening the door, he brings up Nerve on his phone and notices a small video camera icon below the picture. It’s straightforward enough, a few seconds and he’ll be done, and he walks to the mirror with his head down; he doesn’t see the body directly in front of said mirror until it is too late and he’s colliding with someone tall and lean and then they’re shifting forward and the person is catching themselves on the mirror, hands marking its spotless surface as Levi falls against them, his hips pressing into the stranger’s ass.

“Hey! Watch--Levi?”

And Levi thinks it must be some weird trick of fate that it’s a familiar head of shaggy brown that twists to look at him in the mirror. He pushes himself back, giving the kid, _and himself_ , some space.

“Eren.” Levi exhales sharply, annoyed with himself. “Sorry, I wasn’t looking.” He notices the phone clutched in Eren’s hand, then really looks at the kid as he turns around, and notices that he’s also wearing a suit. _Another shared dare,_ Levi thinks, _what the fuck is that about?_

“That’s okay!” Eren says, straightening the hem of his jacket. The suit he’s wearing is cut _very_ well, an emerald green jacket with a slim cut silhouette, white dress shirt, and black tapered pants that accentuate a fit lower body. It fits Eren like it was made for him. Either way, Levi isn’t complaining; Eren is more than pleasing on the eyes. He hears a phone buzz, and he watches as Eren answers and winces slightly.

“Shit, gimme a sec? I just have to get this dare done.” Eren turns back towards the three-way mirror.

Levi shifts his weight to his right leg, one hand on his hip as he catches Eren’s eyes in the reflective surface. “I think we have the same dare. _Again_ .” He checks his phone: _5:52._

Eren smiles at him in the mirror, smoothes down his lapel with a quirk of the head. “Yeah?”

Levi scoffs. Eren’s enjoying this, and really, maybe he is too. Things definitely could be worse. Levi takes a few steps towards him, holding out his hand. “Yeah,” he says, and gestures at Eren’s phone. “Here. I’ve got five minutes. I’ll get a shot of you and we’ll switch off.” Eren’s smile widens and he twists back to give Levi his phone.

“Cool, thanks!”

Levi nods, taking the phone and a few steps back. He sees that Eren has a little less time than him as he clicks on the video camera icon, and he’s suddenly glad Eren took as long as he did changing. Any faster and they might have missed one another. He turns the phone sideways, holding it up as the screen switches to an open recording. In it, he can see Eren posing quick and dramatic in the mirror: a little ‘strong arms’, a smolder over his shoulder, something that Levi knows from exposure to Isabel is called a ‘dab’. Eren looks ridiculous, until he slows down and his poses become more effortless, small motions that highlight the way the suit showcases his assets. Levi thinks ‘ _damn this kid_ ’ at one particular turn, blushing as he realizes he actually said it out loud and Eren winks at him in the mirror. Then Eren’s phone vibrates, the ‘dare complete’ text popping up and the moment is over. He heads towards Levi with a crooked smile.

“Nice! Alright here.” He takes both their phones out of Levi’s hand and his smile turns apologetic as he notices that Levi’s timer has fallen to _2:36_. “M Sorry I took so long,” he starts, but Levi waves him off, walking over to the mirror.

“Just get on with it.” Levi sees Eren nod through his own reflection, watches him hold up the phone just as he had.

“Okay,” Eren says, licking his lips, “pose for me Levi.” And Levi can’t stop the upward shoot of his eyebrows nor the surprised smirk that pulls at his mouth. The little shit is bold, he’ll give him that.

He doesn’t answer Eren, just starts to move in slight, subtle motions that Levi knows work well for his build. He can feel Eren staring at him, not just for the sake of the dare, but really looking at him. When Levi lifts his eyes, he finds Eren’s eyes are boring into him, hungry and bright. It’s been awhile since someone’s look made him feel the way Eren’s does: warm and distracted and out of his element. His focus slips, red threatening his pale skin. He settles into a simple stance, facing Eren with his hands clasped in front of him, his jaw clenched and nostrils flared as he fights the desire to squirm under the other’s gaze.

He doesn’t know how long he stays that way, pinned by Eren’s eyes, but at some point the dare must be satisfied, because Eren’s looking away from him and the ‘kaching’ sounds from his phone, relief and excitement flooding Levi like a Pavlovian response.

“ _And done!_ Congrats dude, $500 in the bank.” Eren hands Levi the phone, holding his other up for a high five, which Levi returns with a small smile. It feels good to have another dare under his belt. He tightens his grip on his phone, crossing his arms, and looks up at Eren.

The kid rubs at the back of his neck, his green eyes soft and happy. “Well this was fun, unexpected but fun. I kinda feel like I shouldn’t say goodbye to you.”

Levi huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, I hear you. I think the Watchers are up to something.”

“Could be,” Eren says, shrugging his shoulders with a laugh of his own. “They certainly seem to like us together.”  

Levi hums in agreement. With the way things are going, the potential of them being in the same place again does seem high. To Levi at least, that’s not such a bad thing. He tosses a look back at his room and hears Eren speak up behind him. “You good?”

Levi purses his lips, an idea forming. “What are you doing after this?”

“Until I get a dare? Nothing, why?”

“I don’t have anywhere to go right now. If the Watchers really are looking to pair us up, it might be better to stay together?” He makes it sound like a question, doesn’t want to force Eren into anything, though something tells Levi it’s a non-issue. Eren’s mouth spills into a grin, something like relief flitting across his expression, and Levi realizes that he has nothing to worry about. It sparks something, and the hesitant warmth he’s been feeling in his chest since their kiss flares. He returns Eren’s grin with a small, inevitable smile of his own.

“Yeah,” Eren says, backing up and nearly tripping over an ottoman. He looks like an excited puppy, and Levi shakes his head, the corners of his mouth twitching with the effort not to smile wider. The kid’s cute and awkward, and he coughs, righting himself.

He holds Levi’s gaze the entire time, pink-cheeked and bright-eyed. “Just let me get changed.”

Levi waves in acknowledgment, already turning towards his own fitting room. He steps inside, slipping off first the jacket, and then the pants. He doesn’t notice anything wrong, thoughtless in the act of undressing, until he hears a knock at the door and opens it to see Eren shirtless, wearing nothing but the black dress pants and his socks. Levi quirks a brow, confused. “Do you need help getting dressed or something?”

“What--no, no,” Eren says, shaking his hands. “Do you have your clothes?” Levi stares at him, incredulous.

“Of course I have my clothes, they’re right--” and Levi turns to see that he is wrong, he does not, in fact, have any of his clothes. The stool where he put them is empty; the only things left behind are his boots. “ _Fuck.”_

“Yeah, _fuck._ ”  Levi clenches his fist, feels the bottom of his stomach drop out as he stands there. If his next dare is to steal this suit, he’s done. He’s never stolen anything in his life, he’s not going to start now. Thankfully, Eren seems to be thinking the same thing.

“I’m not stealing this suit right now,” he says crossing his arms. Levi ignores the _right now_ part of that sentence and nods, frustrated.

“Did you see anyone take our stuff?”

“No,” Eren responds, quickly throwing up his arms, and Levi sees the tips of his ears turn red. “I was a little distracted.” Said distraction reappears momentarily, his eyes raking in Levi’s own half naked form, his black boxer briefs showing slightly beneath the ends of the button up he wears. Levi clears his throat, reaches out to tip Eren’s chin up so that their eyes meet, and his ears turn a deeper shade of red.

Levi drops his hand, smirking. “Focus.”

“I do have an idea,” Eren supplies, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth. “But I’m not sure you’re gonna like it.”

Levi leans against the doorway to his room and folds one arm over the other.“What is it?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated. Thank you for reading!


	4. Selfie

In hindsight, Levi should have expected something like this. Maybe it’s his age; maybe he’s just been focused on his responsibilities for so long that he forgot what it was like to be reckless. Either way, he should have expected  _ streaking  _ to be a part of a game of dares. While it’s not a dare in and of itself, it’s a side effect, and as he stands huddled behind a mostly naked Eren in only his boxer briefs and boots, he kicks himself for being nervous about it. He did dumb shit when he was a teenager, and he has a good body, Eren too, so really the only thing that they have to worry about is getting out of here without anyone calling the cops.  _ And finding clothes afterwards _ , Levi thinks, but that’s besides the point. 

“Alright,” Eren whispers, reaching back to tap at Levi’s arm, his fingers warm against Levi’s cool skin. “Coast is clear.” 

_ For now,  _ Levi laughs to himself,  _ until we get downstairs and scandalize the masses.  _ There’s nothing he can do about it now though, and together they creep down the hallway. Eren hums to himself, something suspiciously like a spy movie that has Levi reaching up to pinch at the kid’s muscled back. 

“Eren,” he hisses, but can’t stop thread of amusement that weaves into the name as Eren dodges away from him. He doesn’t answer, but Levi can see the upward pull of his cheek and just knows he’s wearing a shit-eating grin. They come to a stop where the hallway branches out into the second floor landing, the escalator a good twenty feet away. “Damn.” 

“S’not  _ that  _ bad.” 

“Tch.” Levi can see groups of people milling about. Some of the people when he first entered are still there, and he’s surprised to find the old woman Ella speaking with the man who helped him find his suit. For whatever reason, he has a feeling those two will be the least bothered by what’s about to happen. 

And it does happen, faster than he expects. One minute he’s taking a deep breath and the next Eren is grabbing his hand, running for the escalator as he tugs Levi along behind him. Eren laughs, jumping onto the top step while still keeping hold Levi’s hand. They move quickly, hustling down the steps and towards the front entrance, and Levi’s heart is slamming in his chest and it feels ridiculous. Ella winks at him and the old man smiles. There’s a few ‘oh my gods’ and ‘what the fucks’, but it’s not so bad. He exhales a laugh as Eren bursts through the doors with an excited shout. They don’t stop when Levi thinks they will, continuing at a jog around the corner to the parking lot, relief flooding him at the sight of the Impala dead ahead. 

“I kinda can’t believe we just did that.” Eren says, and lets go of Levi to rest his hands on his knees, breathing hard. 

“It was  _ your  _ idea,” Levi replies with a smirk, his own heart rate slowing as he sits back against the hood of the car. It’s cool out, and he rubs at his arms as he drops his head back and stares up at the dark sky. He hears rather than sees Eren stand up, feels warm skin press against his own as he runs his hand along Levi’s forearm. 

“You’re cold. Hold on, I have a jacket in the car.” 

Levi nods his thanks, but keeps his eyes on the few stars that are visible in Los Angeles at night. It’s nice and quiet, and it does wonders to calm Levi’s nerves. 

Eren’s disbelieving voice breaks the relative silence. “Levi, the suits are here.” 

He pushes himself off the car and turns towards the passenger side where Eren stands, surprise and confusion coloring his features. Levi peers in through the open window, sees the Barneys New York bag settled on the front seat. 

His voice is resigned as he speaks. “Our clothes aren’t in there, are they?” He thinks he already knows the answer, but he asks anyway. 

Either Eren doesn’t know or he’s doing it for Levi’s benefit, because he leans through the window and digs into the bag. He pulls back with a shake of his head, and Levi purses his lips. It’s almost impossible for the suits to be there. After they’d realized their clothes were gone they’d hung them back up on a rack and hid to discuss their plan, leaving all of five minutes for someone to come in and--Levi leans forward, sees the edge of a receipt curled above Eren’s suit jacket and sags a bit in relief--buy the suits and get them to the car. Yet here they are. He still has no fucking clue where his clothes are and that pisses him off, but at least he won’t be half naked for the rest of the night.

They get dressed quickly, Levi quietly mourning as Eren tugs on his pants and buttons up his shirt, the tan and muscled expanse of his skin vanishing from sight. It’s the last thought that should be on his mind tonight, but Levi can’t ignore the pull he feels towards Eren; he knows the kid’s been sneaking his fair share of peeks too. 

Eren’s already fully dressed by the time Levi gets his pants buttoned, and he leans against the car, emerald eyes trained on Levi. Levi scoffs.  _ Peeking is an understatement.  _ Levi meets his gaze, voice teasing. “You’re not very subtle.”

“I didn’t mean to be.” 

The smile that tugs at Levi’s lips is genuine, and he opens his mouth to respond, only to be interrupted by the familiar chime of his phone from where it rests on the roof of the car. It’s Isabel checking in, the text relaying that she’s having a good time and not to worry. He feels better that he doesn’t have to be concerned about her right now, that he can focus on finishing this game before she even has to know something’s up. Levi pockets his phone and finishes getting dressed.

“So,” Eren says, lounging back against the door. He levels Levi with an expectant look. “What do you wanna do?”

\-----

It’s a slow night at Scout’s, the diner devoid of its usual rambunctious crowd, so with Tricia’s blessing, Mike lets Petra sit down with her computer in the same booth as earlier. This way she can be up and ready if she’s needed, but otherwise her attention is devoted to Levi and the situation at hand, or more specifically, a phone call with a dear, and  _ easily distracted,  _ friend of hers. She’d met Hanji through Mic when she first started at the diner--an old friend of his from god knows where, with access to the affordable computers and software that she’d needed for school. Petra likes her very much, finds her funny and knowledgeable, if not a bit scattered--an acquired taste. 

Sipping at her tea, Petra dials Hanji’s number and shoulders the phone. From her seat she can see Mike at the grill in the back. He catches her eyes and gives her thumbs up, to which she nods, and wraps her hands around the warm mug. Hanji picks up on the third ring, and Petra smiles at the familiar enthusiasm of the woman’s voice as she yells excitedly on the other end. It takes a second to get her attention, distracted as she is by one thing or another.

“Mobi, I’m fine. They won’t even know I was in there--Petra! Hello dear!” Hanji’s voice turns indignant. “Tell Mobi to quit worrying so much, he never wants me to do anything  _ fun _ .” 

Petra holds back a laugh, her shoulders shaking slightly. She can practically hear the pout on Hanji’s face, and knows Moblit--Hanji, well,  _ Moblit _ \--is standing there with his hands on his hips and his permanently exasperated expression. His voice gets closer and Petra hears a desperate “Hanji, please” before the woman pulls the phone back and starts to speak. 

“Anyway, what can I do for you, P? Have  _ you  _ got anything fun for me?” 

“I do, actually. It might not help with Mobility breakdown, but it’s nothing too crazy. Just a little investigation.” 

“Detective Zoe, at your service.” 

Petra smiles and taps at the side of her mug. “It’s for a game called Nerve. I tried searching some things on my end but nothing came up. Is there any chance you’ve heard about it?” 

Hanji whistles low on the other end of the call. “I have. All hush hush--in the dark, so it makes sense you haven’t been able to find anything. It’s supposed to be _quite_ a ride from what I’ve heard in passing.” 

Unease settles in Petra’s stomach, her general worry increasing with more unknowns. “A dangerous ride?” 

Hanji laughs. “I hope so! What’s the point in a game of dares if there’s not a little danger?” 

“I’m asking because a friend of mine is playing. He left with some random guy a little while ago, and I have no idea whether it was just a risky decision or a very bad one.” 

Hanji doesn’t miss a beat, and her voice is much calmer as she listens to what Petra is telling her.“I’ll look into it right now, okay? We’ll find out just what your friend got himself into.” 

Petra exhales, appreciative.“Thank you, Hanji. I’m at the diner so I might be up and about but the second you’ve found some more information, please call.” 

“Of course! Tell Mike I said hi and that he owes me $400.” 

Petra shakes her head with a smile, holding the phone. It’s better if she  _ doesn’t  _ ask. “Bye, Hanji,” she says amused, and hangs up. There’s nothing for her to do now but wait. 

\-----

What Levi and Eren  _ want  _ to do and what they end up doing are two very different things, though the outcome is thankfully the same: they get to stay together. They’re five minutes out of the parking lot when their phones go off, the energy in the car tensing with the possibility of separating--until they show each other their phones and together realize that they’ve received the same dare again, the tension in the car dissipating. It’s how they find themselves together again, relieved and hiking up the side of a hill to get to the Hollywood Sign of all the things. The dare is simple in theory: take a selfie on the Sign, a fast in and out that’ll net them both another $500. In reality there’s nothing simple about it. For one thing, it’s illegal to climb, could get them arrested if they’re not careful and quick. Their second problem is figuring out how to actually climb the fucking thing.

“There might be a ladder.” Eren suggests. 

Levi doesn’t know, but Eren is so sure there’s a damn ladder that he actually bets some of his dare money, and Levi doesn’t remind him he has to  _ win  _ for there to be any dare money in the first place. “There might,” he says.

Eren’s walking backwards up the hill, his face illuminated by the glow of his phone. “I think you have no faith that there is actually a ladder.” 

Levi laughs to himself, shaking his head. “I think you’re fixated on this fucking ladder.” 

Eren looks at him, thoughtful. “I guess you could just climb  _ me  _ instead.” He says it with a straight face, makes it sound like a legitimate solution and Levi nearly trips over a rock at his tone: honest and laced with heat. He’s glad it’s dark out, otherwise the red he can feel on his cheeks would be embarrassingly obvious. He still doesn’t understand how this kid can be adorable and goofy while being unabashedly forward, yet here he is giving Levi what amounts to mental whiplash. 

When Levi doesn’t answer, Eren stops him with both hands on his shoulders and a worried expression. “Hey--um I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable. I’ll back off.” 

Levi’s lips twitch with slight amusement. He shouldn’t find Eren’s worry cute but he does. He reaches up and ruffles Eren’s hair. “You’re fine, kid. If I didn’t like it, you’d know it.” 

Eren grins and nods. He takes Levi’s hand in his and turns away, his phone lighting the ground in front of him. “Come on, we’re almost there.” 

‘Almost there’ turns out to just be an excuse for Eren to hold his hand, not that Levi is complaining. Eren tugs him along for another five minutes, up and over the rough ground to avoid the police patrol at the top, before they get to the actual Sign. It’s much taller and flatter than it looks, and Levi wonders for a second how exactly they’ll be able to get a selfie on the sign. Then he sees that the backs of the letters are supported by a grid of steel bars that remind him of jungle gyms, and suddenly it doesn’t seem so daunting. 

Eren nudges him with his shoulder. “Okay so there’s not an actual ladder, but the bars count right? They’re kinda like a ladder.” 

“No,” Levi says, voice deliberately short. It does nothing to hide the amused pull of his features under the phone’s light, and Eren’s smile is satisfied. Levi checks his phone as Eren moves towards the ‘H’. They’ve got a little less than ten minutes left out of a generous fifty, and Levi wants to thank whoever gave them this dare for considering the hell that is Los Angeles traffic. When he looks up, Eren is already climbing up onto the bottom run of the scaffolding, his long legs pushing him up to sit on the second bar. 

He doesn’t look back as he calls out, “You coming or what?”

It takes him a minute but Levi manages to haul himself up too, settling next to Eren with his arms and legs dangling in front of him. Eren mirrors his pose, resting his elbows on the bar, his phone held tightly in his hand. 

“Okay, you first this time.” Eren holds both hands out, waiting to switch phones, and Levi pauses just long enough to issue a half-threat before he takes Eren’s and hands his over. “You drop this and I drop you.”

Eren nods, his eyes serious as he gingerly takes the phone, then they turn mischievous as he fakes like he’s about to drop it and nearly gives Levi a heart attack. 

Levi freezes in place, exhaling hard as he watches Eren tap away at his phone, familiar neon text popping up on the screen. 

“Oh, you fucking shit,” Levi mutters and Eren’s smile is teasing, the tip of his tongue caught between his teeth. 

“And 3, 2, 1--smile, Levi!” He holds the phone out with his left arm so that it pans out, captures the far end of the sign and comes back, settling on Levi, who gives the camera a half-hearted smile and a wave. 

When the dare is complete and the ‘kaching’ sounds off, they switch to Eren’s phone. He’s much more charismatic than Levi is when it comes to his Watchers, giving the camera a wink and a winning smile before satisfying his task with five minutes to spare. Levi hasn’t really given them much consideration tonight; probably not the smartest thing, since his status in the game pretty much depends on their continued support. Hell, he doesn’t even know how many Watchers he has, only that they seem to enjoy pairing Eren and him up. He feels like thanking them for  _ that  _ particular strategy. 

Free for the moment, they unwind against the bars. It’s getting cooler, the breeze stronger up on the mountainside, and Levi swears at himself for not thinking to bring the suit jacket with him. He shivers slightly and goosebumps pebble his arms, clearly visible in the light cast from the sign’s spotlights. He feels Eren shift next to him, then the warm press of skin against his own as the kid settles closer on the bar. 

Levi hums contentedly in response and rests his chin on his fist, his other arm stretched out, hand limp in relaxation. Eren brushes his hand along the back of Levi’s but doesn’t push for more. The silence is comfortable, and together then look out over the city, sprawling and bright and alive beneath them. Levi’s only been to the city a handful of times. It’s too chaotic, too dirty, too  _ much  _ for him in general, but he can’t deny that it’s beautiful--at least from way up here. 

“So Levi,” Eren says, tapping the tips of his fingers softly against the back of Levi’s hand. His voice is curious and low, like he’s pushing himself to do something he’s unsure of. Levi has a feeling he knows what’s coming, keeps silent to let Eren continue. “Why’d you decide to play?” 

Levi huffs out a laugh, biting at the inside of his cheek. _Called_ _it_ , he thinks, and straightens up, sticks out his fist and opens it to move in soft waves against the wind. He doesn’t usually like telling people about himself, has no real desire or need to. The only people who know his story are his friends and that’s really all he can be bothered with. But there’s that something about Eren, a pull that has him opening his mouth despite the fact that he’s known the kid for all of a few hours. 

“It’s just me and my sister. I make enough to keep us in the green, but the assholes who took over our apartment complex jacked the rent up and brought in new companies for utilities. I’d already bothered my friends for help once or twice and I wasn’t doing that shit again.” He shrugs his shoulders. “Basically, I needed fast cash and I heard about this, so here I am.” He waves his hand through the air, flippant. 

“How old is your sister?” 

“She’s 17. High school senior and a  _ total pain in my ass _ .” Even as he says it he knows how full of shit he sounds, and he smiles in spite of himself. Eren smiles too, nodding as he kicks his legs out.

“I bet she says the same about you.”

“Brat.” He whacks Eren’s hand, and the last thing he expects is for Eren to grab his and lace their fingers loosely together.Levi decides that holding hands with Eren is something he likes very much. He gives the kid’s fingers a light squeeze in return. “What about you?” 

Eren’s face drops for a fraction of a second, the ghost of something Levi can’t pinpoint passing over his features. Then as quickly as it came, it’s gone, and his expression settles into something softer, though he still doesn’t meet Levi’s eyes. “Same thing--family.” He pulls his bottom lip in between his teeth. 

Levi follows the path of Eren’s thoughtful gaze to where their hands meet. He can tell there’s something deeper there, but he of all people knows better than to push. Instead, Levi taps at Eren’s calf with his foot and gives a toss of his head. “Come on kid, I’m cold.” He pulls his fingers free, gentle--so that Eren doesn’t think he’s suddenly not okay with the direction they’re heading--and climbs down from the bars. 

Eren follows slowly, rolling his shoulders as he comes to stand next to Levi. Just like he did on the way up, Levi lets Eren take his hand and lead him down the mountainside, guided by the light of their phones.

The trek down is quicker than hike up and by the time they get to the car, Levi is much warmer than before. There’s no one in the dirt lot where they parked, the Impala the only thing settled in the empty space. Levi turns the flashlight off on his phone. He doesn’t have to waste his battery now that they’re at the bottom of the mountain, the light from nearby stores enough to see what he needs to. Eren runs ahead of him, reaches the car first and begins rummaging around in the back seat. Levi gets there a few seconds later to see Eren standing with a black leather jacket in his hands and an easy smile. 

Levi takes it with a quick ‘thank you’ and hops up to sit on the hood of the car. Eren sits back next to him, leaning back on his palms as he looks up to the darkened sky. Suddenly Levi remembers that he had a question to ask him. 

“Hey Eren?” The boy hums, acknowledging, and Levi plays with his phone, turning it over in his hands. “How many Watchers do you have?” 

Eren doesn’t look at him, just keeps his face pointed up to the sky. “Um, last time I looked I was at ten thousand.” 

“You’re shitting me.” Levi doesn’t really know if that’s good in terms of Nerve, but it certainly feels like a lot. 

“No, why? How many do you have?” 

“I don’t know. I never looked,” he says, shrugging. 

Eren turns around quickly so that he stands right in front of Levi, his eyes wide in surprise. “Now  _ you’re _ shitting  _ me _ . You don’t know how many followers you have? This game is  _ all about  _ the Watchers, Levi.” 

“I know that,” he says, indignant. Eren holds back a laugh, taps his fingers on Levi’s knee and takes out his phone. 

“Here,” Eren murmurs, turning the screen so that they can both see it. He opens Nerve quickly; he shows Levi what to press and when the list of top Players pops up on the screen, Levi is shocked to see his name near the top with 7,200 Watchers, a few places below the current leader. He smirks at that. Considering how little he’s paid attention to the mechanics of the game, he’s done pretty damn well for himself so far, and that’s only with a few dares under his belt. “You’re climbing pretty fast for someone who only just started.”

“That’s because I’m amazing,” Levi says, his tone a matter of fact tease. He rests his elbows on his knees and places his head in his heads. He’s curious now. “Which one is you? I didn’t see any Eren on the leaderboard.” He hadn’t--he’d seen a  _ Jean _ , a  _ Connie _ , and a  _ Red  _ among others, but no  _ Eren.  _

“Oh!” Eren says with a lopsided smile, “I’m  _ Rogue. _ ” He rubs at the back of his neck, his smile embarrassed as Levi quirks an eyebrow. “I thought it was cooler and more mysterious than Eren.” 

“There’s nothing mysterious about you,” Levi chuckles.  _ Gorgeous and goofy,  _ he thinks, but the kid is too earnest to be any kind of a  _ mystery.  _ Eren tries and fails to scowl at him, but he can’t straighten out the amused purse of his lips. Levi spares him a response. He remembers seeing that name up towards the top, right below the leader--Jean. Suddenly Levi realizes how quickly his own pool of Watchers has grown, and if he’s right, it’s most likely because of Eren. “How long ago did you start playing?” 

“A few days,” Eren answers and Levi nods.  _ Probably the same time as Isabel. _ Then Eren teases, “You’re welcome, by the way. For the Watchers.” 

And Levi shrugs his shoulders because yeah, he probably should be thanking him for the exposure, but messing with him is so much more fun. “Are you saying I couldn’t have gained those Watchers by myself? That I’m not  _ likeable  _ enough or something?” Levi manages to keep his voice sounding a nice mix of hurt and angry, but just barely. Even he would laugh in his own face if he could. 

Eren sputters, opens his mouth to speak but Levi cuts him off, his tone more obviously teasing. “I think  _ you  _ should be thanking  _ me  _ for some of your Watchers actually _.  _ I was the one who picked you for my dare after all.” 

“That’s true,” Eren concedes. “I can’t say I expected  _ this _ ,” he gestures between himself and Levi, “to go any further than that.” 

“I didn’t expect any of this.” There’s an annoying duality to today that makes Levi crazy, like nothing and everything has happened in the few short hours since he’s started. Eren is the most unexpected of everything, and really, Levi shouldn’t give a damn about what happens to Eren. He should be trying to win this game and leave the kid in the dust, should use the boost that this random partnership has given him to get what he needs. Then Eren has to go and open his mouth and any surging conviction he feels slips out of his grasp. 

“It’s a good unexpected though, right?” Eren’s voice is soft and earnest and fucking  _ hopeful,  _ and Levi wants to die a little bit because this is a complication. He could fight it. fight the rising feelings that make him simultaneously nauseous and excited, but he’d be a bold-faced liar if he said he completely wanted to. Especially not when Eren is looking at him like  _ that.  _

He reaches out and lightly punches Eren’s chest, feels the hard muscle beneath his knuckles and gives the kid a soft push. “I’m still debating that.” He tries to make it sound even, to mask the growing fondness in his tone whenever he speaks to Eren, but he can hear it and so can the boy standing in front of him. They stare at each other, grey meeting green in what light reaches them at the car, and Eren smiles knowingly, like the cat that got the fucking canary.

He steps closer, his stomach pressing against Levi’s knees while his fists rest on top of them. “ _ I  _ think,” he says, low and teasing, “that the Watchers aren’t the only ones who like us together.” 

Levi leans back in surprise, placing his weight on his hands, the cool metal of the car a stark contrast to how hot he suddenly feels. Being with this kid is like having whiplash, and not for first time tonight, he’s reminded what it’s like to be young and feel so many things at once. “You sound pretty sure of that.”

Though he doesn’t back up, a flicker of hesitation crosses Eren’s face, as if he’s afraid he just completely misread the situation and is about to make a big mistake. Suddenly the air feels heavy and Levi immediately curses himself for fucking up the moment. He wants to fix it--to make a move, to sit up and make Eren realize that it’s okay, they may not know each other well, but he’s okay, this is all okay.

Eren does it for him. He screws up his courage again and leans down, shifting his hands to either side of Levi’s hips. He licks his lips and stares at Levi with determined eyes, his voice steady and decidedly more suggestive than before. “I am.” 

Before Levi can respond, before he even has the chance to react, Eren’s closing the distance between them, his lips pressing a chaste yet challenging kiss against Levi’s own. He pulls away, settling a few inches back, and searches Levi’s eyes. Fortunately for him, Levi takes the bait, responds in a way that feels as natural as breathing He takes Eren’s face in his hands, pulling them back together.

Levi has been kissed before. Good kisses and bad kisses, not many, but enough to be a decent judge. In all of those experiences, none ever felt quite as good as the two kisses he’s shared with Eren. He doesn’t know if it’s the excitement of the dares going to his head or his growing feelings towards the kid making things feel all peachy and shit, but whatever it is, he’ll take it. Eren is strong and excitable and so fucking  _ enthusiastic  _ with his kissing, Levi’s just happy to be along for the ride. 

Their lips meet many times over, soft and wet in the relative darkness of the lot. Eren’s leaning into Levi more with each second, is practically on top of him, his knees resting on the bumper next to Levi’s feet. Levi’s bending so far backwards he feels like he’s going to snap, so he thinks  _ fuck it _ , and falls back against the car’s hood, tugging Eren with him. It feels like a teenage cliche, kissing your crush underneath the stars, but for once, Levi finds that he doesn’t really give a shit about all that. He can hit pause on everything that isn’t the feel of Eren’s body pressing down on his own.

Eren breaks the kiss, teeth pulling at Levi’s bottom lip, and then runs his tongue along the same spot. Levi tilts his head back, his eyes closed as Eren mouths his way across his jaw and down to neck. He sucks at the pulsepoint there, makes Levi thrust his hips up in an embarrassingly automatic way, and Levi curses out loud as he feels Eren smile against his skin. 

Then in the midst of everything, Levi feels something vibrate somewhere between them. He’s so caught up in the sensation that his first thought is ‘ _ where the fuck did he get a vibrator?” _ , followed immediately by the realization that no, Eren  _ did not _ pull a random vibrator out of his ass, it’s a fucking phone, and who in the shit thought it was a good idea to interrupt them right now of all fucking times? 

Eren rises and drops his forehead against Levi’s with a groan.“I don't want to answer that.” 

Levi grunts in agreement, but taps Eren’s shoulder to get him up and moving, mourning the loss of heat as Eren slips reluctantly off of him. 

“It could be a dare,” Levi suggests. At the moment he’d rather spend his time kissing Eren than doing anything else, but they are Players first and foremost; what he wants will have to wait. Eren nods, pulls his phone out, and his eyebrows fly up in shock as his eyes scan the screen. Levi straightens his dress shirt, quirking his head in question. 

Eren tries and fails to keep his smile from stretching into a grin. “This one is wild. I’m not so sure you’ll want to do it with me.” He turns the phone towards Levi and what the older man sees there genuinely surprises him. 

_ Hop on the 101 towards  the city center and get to 110 mph. $10,000.  _

Eren’s right. It’s fucking reckless. People do it every day; speed like assholes on the highway and get away with it, and Levi won’t lie, he likes a fast drive himself, but that’s a kind of dangerous he’s not sure he’s willing to fuck with. At least until his own phone buzzes with a similar offer.

He jumps off the car and unlocks his phone, Nerve’s message glaring up at him. He points the device at Eren, shaking it. Eren’s grin widens as he reads the text. “ _ Go for a drive with him. $10,000 _ . These Watchers, dude. They want what they want.” 

It’s a fuck ton of money. More than Levi ever expected to see in this game and more than enough to keep him and Is in the green for a while. He could focus on classes and not kill himself at work, at least for a little bit. He could actually  _ breathe  _ with money like that. 

Eren gives him a nudge. “Come on, Levi,” he says playfully, “I’m a good driver. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He runs a hand up Levi’s side, his voice melting into a tease. “I like going fast. Don’t you?” 

_ This fucking kid.  _ He meets Eren’s eyes, excited and warm as they peer down at him _.  _ Levi decides right then and there that ‘fuck it’ is the official theme of the night. 

So in spite of all his careful planning and caution, Levi lets himself get caught up in the sensations he’s only been flirting with so far--the raw excitement of not worrying, the adrenaline that pumps through his system with each new dare. He gives into the feeling, into Eren’s bright, contagious smile, and nods his head. Eren’s eyes light up. They're beautiful, and Levi likes that he's the one who made him look like that. Eren squeezes his hand quickly, before they get in the car to do what is definitely the dumbest, craziest thing Levi has ever done. But for once, he's not thinking about bills or work, or anything other than the feeling of freedom. He reaches for the sensation, takes hold of it and slips into the front seat next to Eren. 

The engine roars to life, music blaring as Eren turns and looks at him, mimicking their first drive. “Ready?”

Levi smirks, clicking his buckle into place. He knows his line, but this time, the energy is different. He looks over and nods. “Are  _ you _ ?” 

Eren's response is a wolfish smile, all teeth and excitement as he shifts into drive and peels out of the lot. 

\-----

Petra’s phone rings as she’s in the middle of serving a sweet elderly couple out for a late night date. She catches Tricia’s attention, the other waitress waiting to take over if need be, and motions towards the table. They switch places, Petra waving at Mike as she heads to her booth to take the call. 

“Petra my sweet,” Hanji coos into the phone, “I have some information for you!”

Petra breathes a sigh of relief. She’d texted Levi once to no avail, so any kind of knowledge on the game he’s playing makes her feel immediately more at ease. “Thank you, Hanji,” she says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “What were you able to find?” 

“Well, I poked around a bit in the dark and found you a link.” Her voice lowers, conspiratorial. “Between you and me, I was thinking of joining the game--play a little, see how wild the dares can get--but I think Mobi might have a heart attack and then who would feed me?” 

Petra laughs softly. “I think you’re right about Moblit. Give the poor man a break Hanji. He’s already wound so tight over you.” She tries to imagine Hanji without Moblit— and fails miserably. They’re a package deal. 

The woman on the other end sighs, her voice petulant as it always is when Moblit gets the best of her. “I guess I’ll just have to get my kicks by watching. We set up a watcher account and the top Players look like they could be loads of fun. It’s a little tame right now but—“

“Who’s at the top Hanji?” Petra feels bad for interrupting, she does, but if Levi’s at the top, well the thought of that makes her happy and nauseous at the same time. 

“It’s someone named Jean at the moment, but there’s a  _ Rogue _ and a  _ Levi  _ who have chosen to work together and they’re gunning for the lead—“ 

Petra interrupts again. “That’s my friend! Levi!” Her nerves give way to a cautious excitement. “Thank god he’s near the top. I was so worried this was all going to go to hell. How have his dares been? Have you seen any?” She raps her knuckles on the table, getting Mike’s attention. 

“Oh! He’s a stoic little guy, isn’t he? I just saw the last one. He and  _ Rogue _ had to climb the Hollywood sign to take a selfie. Child’s play really, but he seemed fine.” 

Petra exhales and smiles as Mike slides into the seat across from her. She nods, though she feels a little hesitant when she really registers that Eren is still with Levi. She’d seen the way her friend had looked at the kid, with interest and amusement that she doubts he ever expected to feel. Eren, if he’s smart enough, could try to take advantage of that, though Levi’s always been a good judge of character. Still, she’s worried. “And now?”

“Well this one is definitely more my  _ speed, _ ” Hanji says with a cackle, and Petra does not miss the emphasis, like there’s another layer to that sentence. Turns out she’s right.

“They’re on their way to the 101 right now. Objective:  _ to get to 110 mph. _ ” Petra knows Hanji is loving this, but she can’t help the way her stomach drops. Levi isn’t this reckless, he wouldn’t do something that could leave Isabel alone, that could get him  _ killed.  _ Her expression falls, and Mike stares at her with observing eyes. 

“Hanji--Levi’s not like this. He wouldn’t risk everything just for cash…” But as she speaks, she remembers the way he looked when he left, eyes full of frustration and challenge and a plea for her to trust him. It’s possible, she guesses, but there’s something nagging at her. “You know what? Just send me the link.” Petra pauses. “I appreciate this Hanji, and I hate to bother you for more, but do you think you’d be up for some additional recon?” 

Hanji practically squeals. “You know the way to my heart, dear.” Petra hears something rustle, then: “What can I do?” 

“Find out what you can about  _ Rogue. _ ” Petra watches as Mike leans back, the corner of his mouth twitching down the only obvious sign that he shares her suspicions. “His name’s Eren, or at least that’s what he told us. I need to know if Levi is safe with him.” 

“Sure thing, sweets! I’ll get back to you soon. I’m sending you the link now.” 

They say goodbye, and sure enough, Petra’s phone goes off a few seconds later. She forwards the link to her email and settles cross-legged in the booth, opening first her laptop then inbox. 

Mike hasn’t said much of anything over the course of the night, he never really does. But Petra knows as she catches sight of his considerate expression, slight though it may be, that he’s worried for Levi too. He shoots her an expectant glance, her face glowing in the computer’s light. The man isn’t as bold as Erwin when it comes to Levi. He won’t follow or push, but like Petra he cares. So she clicks the link, the text neon bright in her face as it pops up, and becomes a Watcher. 

\-----

If you asked Petra what Levi’s defining qualities were, she’d rattle off a list with things such as hard working, determined, efficient and the like. Nowhere in there, despite having becomes easy friends with him herself, would she put outgoing or social. He’s cordial enough at his jobs, talks to people because he has to--not because he wants to, and while his particular brand of sarcastic gruffness has a certain charm to it that’s earned him the favor of some of the customers, he’s not what you would ever call popular. Yet here he is with over 7,000 people enthusiastically following his every move. 

She’s got Erwin on the phone and her surprise carries clear in her voice. “I wonder if he knows how many followers he has,” she says. She hears Erwin take a sip of something and what must be the stir of fabric as he shifts his phone around on his shoulder. She’d  forwarded him the link courtesy of Hanji, and faster than she could have expected, he’d signed up and called her. Now, he’s hunkered down in a bar in Los Angeles, the noise filtering through the receiver, but she can hear the deep tone of his voice well enough. 

“Probably not, you know him,” Erwin said. She sinks into the worn leather of the booth, turning her empty tea mug from side to side. “Eren might have told him.” 

“He might have.” Erwin is also suspicious. She doesn’t want to assume the worst of this stranger, she really doesn’t, but at the end of the day it’s a game and if Eren wants to win, well Levi is only an obstacle in his path. “He’s doing quite well.” 

Petra opens her mouth to respond, but stops as Levi’s stream goes live and his cool stare comes into view. He’s mumbling something, then flips the camera around so viewers can see that he’s got a second phone in his hands. The first for his own dare, Petra figures, the other for Eren, and Levi focuses the second phone on the car’s speedometer.

“Erwin, I think they’re ready,” she says. 

Erwin’s waiting for the pair to get to the city center before he tries to find them and talk to Levi. “Understood.” 

The line clicks off, and Petra’s left alone with her end of the stream, her head in her hands as she waits for them to start. She doesn’t know if she should watch this, but she steels herself, trusts in Levi’s faith in Eren that she won’t have to watch one of her closest friends die on camera. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated. Thank you for reading!


	5. Drive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [cw: there's suspense and action involving a high-speed drive in this chapter, if that bothers you, you can skip to the middle]

Petra’s phone rings as she’s in the middle of serving a sweet elderly couple out for a late night date. She catches Tricia’s attention, the other waitress waiting to take over if need be, and motions towards the table. They switch places, Petra waving at Mike as she heads to her booth to take the call. 

“Petra my sweet,” Hanji coos into the phone, “I have some information for you!”

Petra breathes a sigh of relief. She’d texted Levi once to no avail, so any kind of knowledge on the game he’s playing makes her feel immediately more at ease. “Thank you, Hanji,” she says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “What were you able to find?” 

“Well, I poked around a bit in the dark and found you a link.” Her voice lowers, conspiratorial. “Between you and me, I was thinking of joining the game--play a little, see how wild the dares can get--but I think Mobi might have a heart attack and then who would feed me?” 

Petra laughs softly. “I think you’re right about Moblit. Give the poor man a break Hanji. He’s already wound so tight over you.” She tries to imagine Hanji without Moblit— and fails miserably. They’re a package deal. 

The woman on the other end sighs, her voice petulant as it always is when Moblit gets the best of her. “I guess I’ll just have to get my kicks by watching. We set up a watcher account and the top Players look like they could be loads of fun. It’s a little tame right now but—“

“Who’s at the top Hanji?” Petra feels bad for interrupting, she does, but if Levi’s at the top, well the thought of that makes her happy and nauseous at the same time. 

“It’s someone named Jean at the moment, but there’s a  _ Rogue _ and a  _ Levi  _ who have chosen to work together and they’re gunning for the lead—“ 

Petra interrupts again. “That’s my friend! Levi!” Her nerves give way to a cautious excitement. “Thank god he’s near the top. I was so worried this was all going to go to hell. How have his dares been? Have you seen any?” She raps her knuckles on the table, getting Mike’s attention. 

“Oh! He’s a stoic little guy, isn’t he? I just saw the last one. He and  _ Rogue _ had to climb the Hollywood sign to take a selfie. Child’s play really, but he seemed fine.” 

Petra exhales and smiles as Mike slides into the seat across from her. She nods, though she feels a little hesitant when she really registers that Eren is still with Levi. She’d seen the way her friend had looked at the kid, with interest and amusement that she doubts he ever expected to feel. Eren, if he’s smart enough, could try to take advantage of that, though Levi’s always been a good judge of character. Still, she’s worried. “And now?”

“Well this one is definitely more my  _ speed, _ ” Hanji says with a cackle, and Petra does not miss the emphasis, like there’s another layer to that sentence. Turns out she’s right.

“They’re on their way to the 101 right now. Objective:  _ to get to 110 mph. _ ” Petra knows Hanji is loving this, but she can’t help the way her stomach drops. Levi isn’t this reckless, he wouldn’t do something that could leave Isabel alone, that could get him  _ killed.  _ Her expression falls, and Mike stares at her with observing eyes. 

“Hanji--Levi’s not like this. He wouldn’t risk everything just for cash…” But as she speaks, she remembers the way he looked when he left, eyes full of frustration and challenge and a plea for her to trust him. It’s possible, she guesses, but there’s something nagging at her. “You know what? Just send me the link.” Petra pauses. “I appreciate this Hanji, and I hate to bother you for more, but do you think you’d be up for some additional recon?” 

Hanji practically squeals. “You know the way to my heart, dear.” Petra hears something rustle, then: “What can I do?” 

“Find out what you can about  _ Rogue. _ ” Petra watches as Mike leans back, the corner of his mouth twitching down the only obvious sign that he shares her suspicions. “His name’s Eren, or at least that’s what he told us. I need to know if Levi is safe with him.” 

“Sure thing, sweets! I’ll get back to you soon. I’m sending you the link now.” 

They say goodbye, and sure enough, Petra’s phone goes off a few seconds later. She forwards the link to her email and settles cross-legged in the booth, opening first her laptop then inbox. 

Mike hasn’t said much of anything over the course of the night, he never really does. But Petra knows as she catches sight of his considerate expression, slight though it may be, that he’s worried for Levi too. He shoots her an expectant glance, her face glowing in the computer’s light. The man isn’t as bold as Erwin when it comes to Levi. He won’t follow or push, but like Petra he cares. So she clicks the link, the text neon bright in her face as it pops up, and becomes a Watcher. 

\-----

If you asked Petra what Levi’s defining qualities were, she’d rattle off a list with things such as hard working, determined, efficient and the like. Nowhere in there, despite having becomes easy friends with him herself, would she put outgoing or social. He’s cordial enough at his jobs, talks to people because he has to--not because he wants to, and while his particular brand of sarcastic gruffness has a certain charm to it that’s earned him the favor of some of the customers, he’s not what you would ever call popular. Yet here he is with over 7,000 people enthusiastically following his every move. 

She’s got Erwin on the phone and her surprise carries clear in her voice. “I wonder if he knows how many followers he has,” she says. She hears Erwin take a sip of something and what must be the stir of fabric as he shifts his phone around on his shoulder. She’d  forwarded him the link courtesy of Hanji, and faster than she could have expected, he’d signed up and called her. Now, he’s hunkered down in a bar in Los Angeles, the noise filtering through the receiver, but she can hear the deep tone of his voice well enough. 

“Probably not, you know him,” Erwin said. She sinks into the worn leather of the booth, turning her empty tea mug from side to side. “Eren might have told him.” 

“He might have.” Erwin is also suspicious. She doesn’t want to assume the worst of this stranger, she really doesn’t, but at the end of the day it’s a game and if Eren wants to win, well Levi is only an obstacle in his path. “He’s doing quite well.” 

Petra opens her mouth to respond, but stops as Levi’s stream goes live and his cool stare comes into view. He’s mumbling something, then flips the camera around so viewers can see that he’s got a second phone in his hands. The first for his own dare, Petra figures, the other for Eren, and Levi focuses the second phone on the car’s speedometer.

“Erwin, I think they’re ready,” she says. 

Erwin’s waiting for the pair to get to the city center before he tries to find them and talk to Levi. “Understood.” 

The line clicks off, and Petra’s left alone with her end of the stream, her head in her hands as she waits for them to start. She doesn’t know if she should watch this, but she steels herself, trusts in Levi’s faith in Eren that she won’t have to watch one of her closest friends die on camera. 

\-----

Levi’s not sure that twenty minutes is enough to do what they have to with Los Angeles traffic in the way, but Eren seems pretty confident. To Eren’s credit, he’s proven himself a damn good driver, and it actually doesn’t take them long to get to the 101. By the time they get onto the highway, they’ve still got a solid fifteen minutes to get the dare done, and as Eren crosses back and forth across the stretch of lanes, Levi takes note of the cars around them. It’s more than he’d prefer there to be. Eren will have to be  _ that asshole,  _ weaving fast in and out of traffic to get to a stretch of clear road. 

Levi has a feeling, one that’s only exacerbated as Eren shoots an excited look his way: They’re going to do this. They’re going to fly down this highway and not kill themselves, and at the end he’ll be ten thousand dollars richer than this morning. Levi feels like his whole body is buzzing. Eren’s thrill is infectious, and as they get ready, he reaches over and squeezes Levi’s hand, his knee bouncing in anticipation. 

Levi  _ tchs _ , pulling his hand away with a smirk. “Both hands on the wheel, Eren. If you get me killed, I’ll haunt you every day for the rest of your life.” 

Eren’s laugh is loud and full as he places his hand back on the steering wheel. “You just can’t bear the thought of leaving me, admit it,” he teases, and tightens his grip, merging into the left lane. Levi watches him smile, though Eren keeps his eyes on the road. “Don’t worry, Levi. We’ve got this.” The kid’s voice is sure and steady. He’s confident in his ability to get them through this, and so Levi is too. 

He reaches between them and grabs Eren’s phone, opening Nerve to record the speedometer, then begins his own stream, leveling the camera with an even look. 

“Alright you little shits,” Levi mumbles, and flips the camera to prove that he’s in the car with Eren. Keeping his own phone trained on the highway, he points the other at the driver. Eren falls into his Rogue persona easily, giving his Watchers a wink and a crooked smile that still flusters Levi, despite the fact that they’ve had their tongues down each other’s throats. 

“Okay guys, we’ve got about 12 minutes to get this done. Plenty of time, but there’s quite a few cars on the road tonight.” Eren makes his voice uncertain, playing up on the touch and go nature of the dare. “So we’ll have to be real smart about this. Buckle up and wish me luck.” 

Levi flips his own camera and tilts his head towards Eren. “What he said,” he tells his viewers, then faces them towards the road again. He and Eren exchange a quick glance, Levi settling back into his seat with both phones steady in his hands. The night air is cool as it breezes in through the open windows. It ghosts along Levi’s skin, and he shivers, his anticipation and adrenaline building with every second. He nods once at the slight break in traffic ahead of them. Eren sees it too and he turns up the music like he’s Mad Max on Fury Road. Somehow it’s fitting. 

“Let’s do it, kid.” 

Eren slams his foot on the gas, and they shoot forward from an already fast 85 mph, the engine revving as it fights for speed. They make it to 96 mph before some dumbass in the middle lane decides the left is a better choice. The Impala is coming up fast, so it’s not like the driver can’t see them if they looked, but the car moves anyway, blocking their path. Eren curses and shifts right to the middle, crossing between a minivan and a convertible to move rapidly over to the far lane. There’s a few cars ahead of them but they've got enough space to hit an even 100. Levi’s heart thunders in his chest, and he wonders if Eren feels it too--the rush of adrenaline that comes as they fly down the highway. He must, if the wide eyes and grin are any indication. The air whips in through the windows, messing Eren’s hair every which way. Levi thinks he looks gorgeous,  _ wild even _ . He makes sure to get a quick shot of him for the Watchers--a little reimbursement for the boost Eren gave him. 

He makes sure to keep his phone pointed at the road, but Levi lets his eyes linger on Eren. He looks so good behind the wheel, comfortable and obnoxiously hot in his dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Levi gets so caught up in following the line of Eren’s neck up to his jaw that he doesn’t realize they’re about to encounter a problem until Eren is banging a fist against the steering wheel, and the Impala slows down from 105 while it comes out of a curve. Levi curses silently. _They were right there_. 

“Fuck!” 

Levi turns and his face contorts in surprise as he catches sight of what has Eren frustrated. Up ahead of them the traffic has grown thicker, groups of cars making a straight acceleration almost impossible. It makes sense. They’re driving quickly towards the city center, towards more people and less opportunities to maneuver across lanes. Eren bites his lip, murmuring. “I don’t know if I can do this.” 

It occurs to Levi that Eren could actually fail this dare. If he did, would the ride still count for Levi so he could continue? He’d known that at some point they’d have to separate, that he’d have to be willing to do whatever it takes to keep the money he’s earned, but in all of that, he never gave much thought to the fact that a complete win for him would mean a fail for Eren. Yet, as he watches the oncoming traffic grow closer, he thinks he may have to start thinking of his own way forward. Technically, he might not even  _ need  _ Eren to win to complete this dare...

“Kid,” he starts to say, but Eren is becoming visibly more upset. His brows furrow and he sits up, body rigid as he cranes his neck this way and that. “Don’t push it. I know you’ve got your own story, but whatever it is this dare isn’t worth it. You can’t help anyone if you’re dead, and neither can I.” 

Eren nods, worrying his lip between his teeth. “I know. You’re right, but I--” He’s interrupted as Levi’s face brightens and he thrusts his hand with his phone forward, pointing towards a section of road up ahead.

“Eren, there!” It’s not a huge space. There are cars that could easily ruin the straight shot, but it just might be enough to get from their current speed of 85 to the 110 mph they need. The doubt that Levi feels is overshadowed by a buzzing excitement that there’s still a chance. 

“I see it!” Eren shouts, merging back over to the middle. He’s able to speed up, clearing 90 mph as he passes two cars to the left of him. They’re almost in the clear, just a few short feet away, when a car ahead of them puts its left blinker on. Levi nearly loses his shit, leaning out the window to yell at the car. He knows they probably can’t hear him, but he feels vindicated as the car’s blinker goes off and the path stays wide open. Eren barks out a surprised laugh, putting his own blinker on. “You know they can’t hear you, right?” 

Levi leans back with a satisfied huff. “I know that! I just want you to win this.” 

Eren shoots him a sideways glance, his expression unreadable. He keeps silent, accelerating now that there’s open road. Levi watches the speedometer through Eren’s stream, the needle moving steadily from 95, 96, 97– all the way to 105.

“How much time?” Eren asks, and Levi checks the timer.

“Eight minutes. You’re fine, Eren.” 

The road is clear ahead of them and Eren nods. He presses the pedal further, speeding up the final stretch as the lights of the city center come into view. Levi holds his breath, watches as the needle finally reaches 110, and he’s both overjoyed and deeply relieved when Eren’s phone goes off with the trill of a satisfied dare. Levi exhales sharply, nodding his head.  _ It’s done. We’re done. This is good.  _

Eren drums his hands on the wheel with a victorious grin, merging over to the right to catch an exit off the highway. He stops right next to a large building, the Ahmanson Theatre, Levi notes from a sign. Eren grabs his phone, shuts the car off and is out of the car running a victory lap before Levi can even unbuckle himself. He moves slow and stares at his phone, curious as to why his own dare hasn’t been satisfied yet. He doesn’t have much time to think on it because Eren is whipping his door open, grabbing his hand and hoisting him up. Levi stumbles with the momentum and Eren’s hands slip to his shoulders, steadying him. The next thing Levi knows, Eren’s hands are cupping his face and he’s leaning down to kiss him, hard and raw and happy. He presses his forehead against Levi’s, breathing deep. His voice is soft.

“Thank you,” Eren says. 

Levi laughs, his brows furrowing and the corner of his mouth quirking up. His heart is still thundering in his chest. “For what?” 

Eren shrugs. “I don’t know. Just, uh, thank you.” 

Levi gets feeling grateful but not having the words to communicate how. So he says you’re welcome in the only way that seems right: by making a move of his own. He presses his mouth to Eren’s with a soft smile playing at his lips. Someone somewhere is satisfied by it, because in the middle of their kiss, his phone ‘kachings’, his dare complete. 

“Seriously,  _ now _ ?” He murmurs against Eren’s mouth. The kid’s answering laugh is light. 

“Watchers,” Eren says, amused, yet resigned. It’s only then that Levi notices the group of people on the sidewalk, watching Eren and him with their phones in their hands, as well as a few cars with people leaning out windows or with their noses pressed to windshields to get a good look at them. They must be Watchers too, Levi realizes, and at this particular moment, he feels a bit like an exhibit, people oohing and aahing as they stare. 

Eren looks down at him with silent concern. It  _ is  _ annoying, but Levi says fuck it for the nth time, because at this point who cares? They just did something dumb as hell and survived. He and Eren are both still in the game, and he’ll figure out what to do when they get further because this strange kid and this ridiculous game make him feel alive like he hasn’t in so long. 

He levels the Watchers with a cool stare, trying push down the irritation he feels at being gawked at. Eren drapes an arm over his shoulders and squeezes, shooting their Watchers a wink. They’re acting like Levi and Eren are some celebrity couple, like they’ve skyrocketed in fame over the course of a few hours and are now suddenly valuable. Levi’s not quite sure how  _ that  _ happened but then again he doesn’t quite understand anything his sister’s generation is interested in or capable of. He shrugs his shoulders as he and Eren start to turn away.  _ Millennials.  _

\-----

Petra takes deep breaths and tells herself over and over that it’s fine; the dare is done, and Levi is in one piece, and that’s all that matters. It works to calm the immediate panic she feels, but does little to halt the rising fear that this isn’t the worst thing her friend might do to win this game. Mike lets out a strong exhale from behind her, squeezing her shoulder supportively as he does. 

“He’s okay, Petra,” he says, voice fond. “Levi will be back grumping around and falling asleep on the job after this is all over.”

_ It’s not just Levi _ , Petra thinks. It’s Eren more than anything. She saw the look on Levi’s face as they finished, saw him look at Eren with something layered in his eyes, like thrill and warmth and something  _ raw.  _ It was a foreign look in Levi’s eyes, one that tips the scale away from trusting Levi to truly worrying about his judgement. The idea leaves a bad taste in her mouth. 

Her phone rings. It’s Hanji again, and Petra prays that there’s nothing more than chemistry to worry about where Eren and Levi are concerned. 

Hanji’s excited rant is nearly unintelligible--a jumble of words that convey her frenzied happiness. Petra holds her phone away from her ear as the madness dies down. 

“Han-- _ Hanji _ , “ she says calming, “repeat that, slowly.” She laughs in response, but does as she’s asked. 

“I said, can you believe what just happened? That was wild. For a minute there I was worried about the kid’s judgement, but he actually did it! I hope they do more dares like that. Makes me less sad about not joining.” 

“Hanji,” Petra sighs, “ _ Please don’t _ \--” She’s interrupted by a shout at the other end of the line. 

“Here’s Mobi now! He took over the search while I watched your friend’s dare. Hold on, I’m giving him the phone!” 

Moblit’s kind voice is a gentle juxtaposition to Hanji’s ever present enthusiasm. He cuts right to the chase. “Hi Petra, it’s nice to talk to you again. I found something on Rogue that I don’t think you’re going to like.” Petra holds her breath as he continues. “He was involved with another round of Nerve in Seattle, along with the current leader Jean. They were working together with another Player and that boy died while he was with them on a dare. The death is listed as an accident, no connection to Nerve, or the other boys beyond a vague menton. But there’s a video, if you want to see, it’s--well it’s shocking and suspicious.” 

Petra’s stomach turns. She had a feeling something was off, but this is beyond what she was thinking. Eren using Levi is one thing. It’s terrible but not _fatal_ and ultimately Levi could handle that. If Eren is dangerous though, he’s very good at hiding it, and he’s not going to let Levi just keep playing, he’s going to get him out of the way as soon as he’s done with him. 

“Petra? Are you still there?” Moblit asks, concerned. Petra takes a deep breath, focusing back on the call. 

“ _ Moblit _ . I’m sorry. Thank you for telling me.” She exhales, runs an anxious hand through her hair and looks up at Mike with alarm in her eyes, “I have to go. I have to get in touch with my friend.” 

“Let us know if you need anything,” Moblit says, then, “I’ll tell Hanji you said goodbye.” He hangs up, and Petra immediately starts dialing. She might not be able to get to Levi in time, but  _ Erwin  _ can. 

\-----

Eren’s phone goes off, and he looks down at it, biting at his lip with a reluctant expression.

“What is it?” Levi asks after a few moments. “Got another dare?” 

Eren gives a minute shake of his head, dropping the hand that holds the phone to squeeze at his own shoulder. He turns to look at Levi. “You don’t want to go to a party, do you?” Levi’s answering expression is questioning. “It’s my friend,” Eren explains, “He asked me to stop in if I can.” The last thing that Levi wants to do right now is go to a party filled with a bunch of probably drunk teenagers, but Eren doesn’t seem all that excited either. It could be a simple in and out, and that’s not so bad. 

“You know,” Eren says, an optimistic smile playing at his lips like he can see Levi weighing the pros and cons, “it could get us more Watchers.”  _ More Watchers, more money,  _ Levi thinks, and Eren’s right. In his mind, it’s enough to justify a quick appearance. 

“Yeah, alright.” 

Eren’s quick to hide the surprise that morphs his features, covers it with a nice smile instead, and Levi lets it go. 

“Cool, okay.” He’s relieved, his shoulders relaxing, and he leans back in his seat. He lifts his phone with a shake in Levi’s direction. “It won’t take us long to get there. Mind if we check out the competition before we go? I wanna see what’s happening at the top.” 

Levi shrugs his shoulders, settling closer to Eren to share the small screen of his phone. The standings are slightly different than before.  _ Jean  _ is still at the top, with Eren right below him, but Levi has somehow managed to jump a few spots, to settle right under Eren. Levi notices that  _ Red _ and  _ Connie _ are tailing him, but their numbers are closer to each other’s than his so he doesn’t think he has to worry. Eren clicks around the screen, watching parts of streams to get an idea of what they’re up against.  _ Jean  _ turns out to be a tall boy with the oddest hair Levi has even seen, a blond layer of hair settling over a closely shaven brown that’s similar to his own but doesn’t look nearly as good. The boy is a cocky son of a bitch, pointing a finger at and blowing the camera a kiss before he hands his phone to who Levi assumes to be a Watcher. The camera pans the environment, revealing it to be a rooftop, metal and flat.

“Oh  _ shit,”  _ Eren snickers, “he’s gotta jump.” Levi sees it too, the camera following Jean as he stands on the edge of the building and points at the next one over. 

“No fucking way,” Levi says under his breath. The boy has long legs, but even then that’s a hell of a jump. “He’s going to break his whole damn body.” 

Eren hums, unconvinced. “I don’t know. I’ve seen him run before. Dude is like a fucking horse.” 

Together they watch Jean back up to the far end of the building, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. He squats down, settles back on his toes like a sprinter as his timer slips from three minutes to two on the little screen. Levi holds his breath, not wanting to watch this kid fracture every bone in his body, but he finds that he doesn’t have to worry about that at all. Eren is right again. Jean  _ is _ like a fucking horse. His long legs carry him fast and far, and he crosses the divide between roofs, nearly ten feet by Levi’s estimate, in a long bound, tucking and rolling as he lands on the other side. They stay just long enough to see the ‘dare complete’ before Eren shifts to the only other active stream at the top of the leaderboard.  _ Red.  _

He’s not sure if Eren’s already seen this Player yet, but when they switch to the stream, Levi can’t pick out any one person that could be them. The camera is set on a large group of people, a party he thinks, if the cups and blaring music are any indication. “Which one are they?” 

“I’ve only seen her once or twice but— oh that’s her I think.” He puts his finger to a blurry figure suspended upside down at the top of the screen. “I recognize the hair.” The camera tilts sideways for a moment then straightens out, the image clearing as it settles on the dangling figure. Her face isn’t visible, just the top of her head as she crunches upwards, hands moving as if she’s talking to someone out of frame. And Levi has to double, then triple take as it sinks in just _ who  _ he’s looking at. He knows that hair, the two braids he himself taught her how to do when she was younger. Yet he can’t believe what he’s seeing.  _ Red is Isabel.  _

“What the  _ actual fuck _ ?” He hisses. He could kick himself for not thinking to ask her name when he’d found out about it, but he’d trusted her. She’d never given him a reason not to, until now. 

“Levi?” Eren asks, suddenly worried. “What is it?” Levi stabs at the screen where Isabel is center focus. Her timer ticks down, nine minutes left out of ten. She got lucky with this dare. She spent the better part of her childhood hanging upside down on the playground, so he knows she’ll pass it no problem. It doesn’t make the situation any less infuriating. 

“That's my sister.” 

“Your sister?” Eren’s eyes widen in shock. “You didn’t tell me she was a Player. She’s doing pretty well!” 

“She’s not supposed to be  _ doing  _ at all!” Levi snaps. “She told me she was done with this. I have to go--I have to make her stop.” He digs a hand into his hair, frustrated. “ _ Fuck!  _ I don’t even know where she is!” 

“I do.” Eren says and Levi whips his head to face him. His mouth is set in a determined line, jaw tensing as he starts up the car. “Buckle up.” Levi does as instructed, narrowing his eyes at Eren. 

“How do you know where she is?” 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated. Thank you for reading!


	6. Party

_ It’s a small fucking world,  _ Levi thinks as he and Eren hop into an elevator, one that will take him up to find his sister. He didn’t expect Isabel’s party and the one Eren mentioned to be one in the same, and yet here they are, and all Levi can think is  _ thank fucking god the world’s so small. _

He checks his phone for the time. They were actually pretty close to the building, so if he’s right, Isabel should still have a little less than two minutes to go. The doors open with a ping onto a hallway with two doors at opposite ends. Eren heads to the right and Levi follows. They don’t knock, slipping into the party unnoticed, which lasts for all of 30 seconds. A girl at the edge of a group notices Eren first, then Levi, and waves enthusiastically at the pair of them. Eren takes his hand with a squeeze and shakes his head at the girl to stop, holding his finger to his lips in a silent shush. She does, thankfully, and gives them a thumbs up and a wink. 

Eren pulls him to the side, navigating through a crowded hall as the bass of the music pumps through the apartment around them. It’s the kind of music that in any other situation works its way through bone and hypes you up, but all it does is make Levi more annoyed. 

Everything feels so impersonal and ridiculous and he  _ still  _ doesn’t believe it, that his sister is somewhere in this party doing what she promised him she wouldn’t. 

“Up there,” Eren says, pointing at a spiral staircase that carries up to what Levi can see is a loft space. Eren lets him go first, and Levi takes the stairs two at a time, catching a glimpse of Isabel’s swaying pigtails as he goes.  _ Good _ , he thinks,  _ she’s not done yet.  _ Levi wants to shout at her, get her attention and lay into her for this dumbass move, but he’s not an idiot, he’ll wait till she’s finished. Farlan is the first person he sees when he makes it to the top, standing next to Isabel’s feet as they hook around the metal bars of the railing. Farlan’s eyes widen and he winces at being caught, but he doesn’t speak, not after Levi levels him with a glare that he’s sure has the kid nearly shitting his pants. 

It takes less than a minute for Is to complete the dare, and Levi spends it waiting in front of her, his arms crossed and hip cocked while he looks at Eren standing next to him, an unreadable expression on his face as he stares down at his phone. 

Levi hears shuffling in front of him and turns in time to see Isabel crunch her way into a sitting position, grabbing Farlan’s hand to steady herself. She has her eyes closed, probably to handle the shift in orientation, so she doesn’t notice Levi right away. Downstairs, the faint but still there recognition of her success sounds off amid the house music, and she drops her head back with a relieved smile. He almost doesn’t blame her--the rush and relief that comes with a win are problematically familiar. But he does blame her, and he clears his throat.

Isabel freezes, grabbing tighter at Farlan’s hand as she lowers her head, slow and reluctant. “ _ Shit _ ,” she whispers and slides off of the railing. He waits until the small crowd on the balcony catches on to the tension and dissipates.“Care to tell me what the  _ fuck  _ you think you’re doing?”

“Levi--” 

“You promised me Is, you promised me this was over.” She opens her mouth again, but Levi can’t stop the words from spilling out. “You knew it was stupid and dangerous. You’re not an idiot, so why are you acting like it  _ again _ ?” 

Her mouth slams shut, eyes flashing hurt as she stares at him. Levi knows he’s an ass for expecting honesty with her when he’s been hiding shit himself, but he does, though he doesn’t know why he expects her answer to be any different than before.  

“I...you know why, Levi. You were never going to let me get a job. I know you want me to focus on senior year, but how am I supposed to do that when we can’t even afford college tuition? This,” she says flinging her arms out, “was how I could help.” She puts her hands on her hips, tilting her head in frustrated confusion. “How did you even know I was playing still? You’d have to be a Watcher or a...” Isabel stares at him, eyes taking in the parts of the suit he’s still wearing--dress shirt with the arms rolled up to his elbows, black pants and the shoes he could never afford--and shifting to Eren too. Her gaze narrows as she notices their similar outfits and trails off. She barks out an incredulous laugh. “You’re kidding me, right?” 

Levi hears a throat clear behind him, then Eren’s voice,curious and terribly timed. “How did you not know your brother was playing?” 

Isabel eyes him, crossing her arms over her chest. Their mirrored pose is almost enough to make Levilaugh.

“I don’t know!” She huffs, “I haven’t been paying attention to anyone else.” 

At that, Levi snorts despite his anger and Eren groans.“ _ What is it with this family?”  _

“I--” she stops, and turns her nose up at Eren. “Who even are you?” Eren goes to speak, but Levi beats him to it. He doesn’t want Isabel’s attention on the kid.

“His name’s Eren,  _ and this isn’t about him Isabel.  _ It’s about you and going behind my back.” 

She lets out a dramatic noise, and he keeps his mouth shut, watching as she smacks a hand to her forehead with a disbelieving smile. “Behind  _ your  _ back?  _ You’re _ the one who said this was dangerous! That it was stupid and--” she drops her voice low to mimic him, “‘ _ how did I know I could trust these people _ ?’ Yet you go and hide it too!” 

“You were already out, Is! I didn’t join until after you left.”

“Oh,  _ right _ . So you  _ were  _ going to tell me, just next time you saw me. Sure.” 

“That’s not the goddamn point! It is dangerous, Is! They have our information. And the dares they have us doing?” Levi hasn’t seen many, but he’s not delusional. He thinks about the dare they just finished, about that kid  _ Jean  _ and his jump and how the three of them could have died with even the slightest fuck up. “You should have quit when I told you to.” 

“But it’s fine if you do it, yeah?” Isabel says. Her voice is spiteful and hurt. “You get to take on another thing and drive yourself crazy, no problem.” She shrugs her shoulders. “Might be dangerous but hey, at least you get to play your fucked up version of the hero.” 

Levi freezes. There’s a sharp inhale behind him, but he can’t take his eyes off of Isabel or her face as it flashes with regret and settles back on defiance. 

“Is that what you think?” He speaks coolly, through gritted teeth and wavering composure. “That I do what I do for some kind of fucking  _ hero worship _ ?” Levi feels hollow. There’s no way she means it, no way they’ve gone so far off course that all of her support has been total bullshit. So was she just trying to hurt him?

When she can’t answer, he realizes he’s right, and somehow that’s so much worse. 

Their silence is interrupted by someone calling Isabel’s name from downstairs, and she turns to look over the railing, Levi following reluctantly. The voice belongs to a girl he vaguely recognizes from Isabel’s friend group. She’s standing near the edge of the crowd, his sister’s phone held up towards them. 

“Got another one, Is!” 

Levi watches Isabel fight the wave of excitement, his fists tightening at the familiarity of it as she peers sideways at him. He sees her jaw shift with consideration, then the moment she decides to ignore him yet again. 

Isabel leans over the railing, calling down to her friend. “What is it, Moneé?” 

“Go to the roof and jump into the building’s pool - $1,000.” Moneé laughs, her eyes wide with surprise. “A fucking grand, Is!” 

Isabel bites her lip, chancing a look in Levi’s direction. Her face is a mix of apprehension and excitement, and he gives her a single shake of his head. 

“Don’t even think about it, Isabel.” She doesn’t know how to swim. With their mother being sick for so long and him working as much as he could, he’d never had the chance to teach her. Yet here she is, actually considering it. 

“Levi, it’s a thousand dollars.” She screws her eyes shut tight and continues. “I can do it. I’ll just get up there and someone will get me out or whatever. It’s just a pool, right?” she asks. She says it to herself again quietly. “ _ It’s just a pool _ . Not too big. Farlan you’ll rescue me, right?” She peeks an eye open to see her boyfriend nod at her, and smiles. Levi rolls his eyes. He can still see the bit of uncertainty in her forced expression.

“You’re not doing this. We don’t need the money so badly that you need to do something you’re fucking terrified of.” 

Isabel’s response is a frustrated shout. “Would you stop telling me what to do?” She leans back over the railing. “Moneé, accept it.” The girl looks up, her thumb hovering over the phone’s screen and her eyes shifting between between the both of them. Levi levels her with a glare.

“Moneé, reject the dare,” he says, then to Isabel: “Just stop.” 

“No, Levi!” she shouts. 

“Isabel, you’re acting like--” he starts to say. They’re both so focused that they miss Moneé’s voice, ignoring her and the group that has gathered to watch them. 

“Why don’t you understand that I can make my own decisions?” Isabel shifts her body, hand on one hip. “I can pull my own weight!” 

“Is, it’s not— ” Levi’s interrupted by Eren, who tugs at his elbow to get his attention. 

“Levi, stop...look.” He gestures to the phone in Levi’s hand, where a Nerve new message waits to be read. The music is loud, between that and arguing with Isabel, Levi hadn’t even noticed it go off. “You’ve got a new dare,” Eren says.

But when Levi looks, he realizes it’s not a new dare at all. It’s Isabel’s.  _ What the hell?  _

Isabel eyes him suspiciously. “What is it?” He shows her the message, expressions of surprise, frustration, and confusion flicking across her face as she reads it. “But that’s  _ my  _ dare.” She looks down at Moneé with wild eyes. “What happened, Moneé? Did you reject it?” 

“No, it disappeared before I could do anything!”

Levi stares at his phone. The take has doubled to two thousand; why, Levi doesn’t know. He’s not sure if the Watchers around them--and he can see that more than half of the kids down on the dance floor have their phones out to record, so he’s assuming they’re part of the game--are just being little shits or if they’re feeling benevolent. Is it possible that they heard him mention Isabel’s fear? Either way, Isabel will be pissed if he takes it. 

Levi can’t pass it up though. It’s two grand for something  _ he  _ can do, and if he’s being honest, he’s pissed at Is for being such a stubborn pain in his ass. He presses ‘accept’ and looks up to meet Eren’s curious eyes. 

Farlan, who’s been quiet the whole time, steps up and wraps his hand around Isabel’s shoulder. “Look, I know you want this Is, but I don’t think this dare is worth it. For whatever reason, the game didn’t kick you when the dare went away, so maybe just wait for the next one?” 

“It doesn’t matter anyway.” She says, hanging her head with a pout and gesturing towards the visible screen of Levi’s phone. “He already accepted it.” 

The crowd cheers from downstairs and Levi watches as a timer replaces the text on the screen.  _ 6:00.  _

“Fucking great. Okay, Is--” he shoots her a pointed look. “I’m doing the dare and then you are getting out of this city.” She sputters but he ignores her, looking at Eren instead. “Come on.” 

Eren nods and together they race back down the spiral stairs and out of the apartment. Levi dashes down the hall, catching sight of a door to the right of the elevator. He hears people trickle into the hallway, their voices loud and excited, but he doesn’t look back. Levi can see Eren just out of the corner of his eye and that’s all he’s particularly concerned about beyond launching himself off a building in the next few minutes. It’s only four stories and he can swim just fine. Hell, people do more absurd shit than this all the time and survive, but it doesn’t stop him from wanting to hesitate. 

He tears open the stairwell door, pausing on the landin, and tugs Eren to him as the door slams quickly shut.  _ 4:02 _ .

“The pool’s gotta be in the back,” Levi says, the words tumbling out. “Go there and wait for me?” 

Eren nods once and surges forward, pressing their lips together. He whispers against Levi’s mouth. “Don’t die, okay?” Then he’s off, flying down the stairs. 

Levi hears people coming closer in the hall, the ding of the elevator telling him some are definitely going outside. He glances up as the door knob turns behind him. He’s only got three and a half minutes left. 

The Watchers that flood into the stairwell follow him up the few flights, staying annoyingly close but not bothering him beyond that, and he makes it to the roof in less than a minute. Jogging over to the edge of the building, Levi peers down and sees the pool, decently large and smack in the middle of courtyard that separates this building he’s on and the one across the way. The pool is not that far from the edge of the building; a good ten feet of space in between the two.

“Levi!” He turns at the sound of his name and sees Eren standing almost directly below him. He’s surrounded by Watchers, each with their phones pointed up at the roof. Eren waves at him. “I forgot to tell you to give me your phone to record. Toss it down!” 

Levi stares down at him incredulous, bouncing on his heels.  _ 2:36. _ “Are you fucking--fine!” Then he realizes he’s about to jump into a pool fully clothed, with nothing dry waiting for him to change into. He makes a split second decision, slipping off his shoes and socks, and tugging off his shirt and pants as fast as he can to the catcalls of the Watchers behind him. “Shut up, you creepy fucks,” he hisses. He’s down to his underwear and the goddamn tie; a bright yellow  _ 1:58  _ glaring at him from where his phone sits on the ledge. He throws his clothes over the side, heedless of where they might land, then glares down at Eren as the clothes drop to the ground around him. Levi squares his shoulders and holds his phone right above Eren. “You better goddamn catch this!” He takes a deep breath on  _ 1:33,  _ then drops the device. He only lets himself breathe when it falls safely into Eren’s hands. 

“ _ Shit, fuck, okay... _ ” Levi mumbles frantically. He’s probably got less than a minute now and he tries to take a deep breath, but the Watchers are moving closer to him, driving him even closer to the ledge. He hops up onto it and braces himself for the impact he’s about to feel. 

Some asshole by the pool shouts at Levi to ‘just do it already,’ only to be met with a ‘fuck you’ from someone else on the roof behind him. That same person calls out to Levi. “Thirty seconds, dude.” 

And with that, Levi grunts, launching himself off the roof. It’s a good shot, if a little close to the edge of the pool, and he barrels towards the water much faster than he expects, hoping he’s not about to crack his head open on the concrete. He closes his eyes, hears gasps and shouts before he slams into the water, his skin stinging as he plummets to the bottom. His ass collides hard with the basin, but Levi ignores the pain, propelling himself up as fast as he’s able. He breaks the surface of the water, takes a deep, heaving breath as small waves crash heavily around him. Then he registers a noise, booming and wild around the perimeter of the pool. The Watchers shout and applaud, their phones trained on him as flashes blink from within the crowd. They’re vultures, but he did it; he’s not dead, and that’s a relief.

Levi clenches his jaw and moves to push himself up and out of the pool. Eren stops him, reaching for him with an appreciative smile and Levi’s phone tucked into his chest. “That was awesome,” Eren says as he helps him up. He holds the phone out so Levi can see the message there.  _ Levi, $2000 has been wired to your account.  _

“That was ridiculous.” Levi huffs, releasing a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Fucking hell.” He runs his hands through his hair, slicking it back and out of of his eyes. He catches Eren staring at him, not embarrassed like he was back at the Grove, but hot and hungry, and so terribly timed. If they were in any other situation... but Levi stops himself, rolling his eyes.  _ Not the time.  _ Other than his phone, Eren’s hands are empty. “My clothes?” 

“Here,” someone says, and Levi looks up to see Isabel with a towel in her hand and Farlan standing behind her, Levi’s clothes folded in his arms. He takes the towel without a word, waiting for Isabel to speak. 

“You scared the shit out of me,” she says. 

“It would have been worse if you tried to do it.” He runs the towel quickly over his body, pressing it against his boxer briefs to soak up as much water as he can. In his periphery, he sees several Watchers move closer to them. 

Isabel nods. “You’re right, but the next one is mine.” Levi scoffs, tossing his towel on a chair by the wall. He grabs his clothes from Farlan, tugging them on quickly and removing the wet tie from around his neck before slipping on his boots. He stares at her, incredulous.

“You need to stop.” 

“ _ I  _ need to stop?” Isabel’s eyes go wide, her mouth hanging open to say more, but she pauses as a group steps up to them. They recording, Levi realizes, ever after the dare is over. The two at the front wear shit eating grins and turn to capture themselves in the camera’s scope.

“And here we have three out of the top four Players,” one says, and moves to put his arm around Levi. “You’re so cool bro. You jumped like it was nothing. Just...whoosh!” He motions with his arm and stumbles, tugging Levi with him, and the few other Watchers near them nod. “I’m betting on you to win this whole thing!” 

“Get the hell off me,” he growls, shoving the guy away from him. Levi’s done with the Watchers. He doesn’t like them staring, doesn’t like them thinking they can just come up and touch him; or even the idea that they think they know anything about any of the Players. Levi’s tried to keep his head down, to ignore the people gawking at him, but it’s impossible. Avoidance doesn’t work, and his heart hammers in his chest as he grows increasingly frustrated with the attention and his sister and the whole damn thing. 

He launches forward, snakes an arm out to grab at Isabel’s wrist and pulls her behind him, ignoring Farlan’s ‘hey, wait!’ and Eren’s soft call as they head back into the building. Thankfully the hallway is empty when they burst through the door with Eren and Farlan at their heels, and Levi stalks through to the foyer, letting go of Isabel’s wrist as Eren pulls the door closed, cutting off the noise from out by the pool. Levi’s head pounds as they make their way through the building and out onto the sidewalk. He scans the street, eyes darting in the darkness until he sees the familiar shape of his car. He holds his hand out to Isabel, not bothering to look at her. “Keys.”

“What? Levi, no--” Her voice is hesitant and surprised, but he can’t think about it. He needs her out of here _now._ Too bad for him, she keeps going. “I’m not leaving.” 

This time he looks her dead in the eye. “You are, Isabel. And you’re quitting this game right now.” 

“No! Levi, I’ve got followers. I can still win if—” Levi would scream if he thought it would do any good, but it won’t and despite the fact that this is a joke, it has to be a joke because Isabel just _isn’t_ _fucking getting it_ , he can’t bring himself to laugh either. She’s still talking, but he’s not really listening.  

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees kids trickle out of the building they just came from. For no apparent reason, they hover near the entrance. It’s close enough to hear them, Levi’s sure, but not directly on top of them— either way it’s still fucking annoying. 

“Is, please just stop.” It’s Farlan who speaks and Levi watches as the boy takes his sister’s hands, giving them a light shake to pull her focus away from Levi. “You don’t have to do this anymore, okay?”

Levi rolls his eyes. Isabel is one of the most stubborn people he’s ever met; he’s five seconds from throwing her over his shoulder, but if Farlan thinks he can do something, then he can have the fuck at it. 

Levi turns slowly away from the couple to look at Eren. He’s quiet, leaning against the building with an intense look in his eyes, his arms crossed over his chest as he meets Levi’s gaze. It’s curious and warm and the small, crooked smile Eren gives him is so easy when everything feels so hard. It makes him want to smack him and kiss him in that order. But he can’t because there’s more ridiculous things to deal with right now, because he’s so goddamn frustrated and his sister’s voice is calling out a name— one that he didn’t think he’d hear till the game was over at the very least. 

“ _ Erwin _ ?” 

He watches Eren’s brow furrow and looks back over his shoulder to see his friend, twenty feet away and growing closer. Erwin looks so out of place in the crowd of slowly growing people that Levi snorts out a laugh, in spite of how irritated he is at the sight of him right now.

“What are you doing here?” He asks, turning and not bothering to hide the edge in his voice. Erwin’s  _ involved  _ nature is not something he can handle at the moment. 

Erwin pushes through the cluster of people, striding towards their little group with a layered look. It’s determined and concerned and the slightest bit—  _ frantic _ ? Levi’s not sure he’s seen this look before, and it makes him pause. “What the hell is wrong with  _ you _ ?” 

Erwin gives Isabel a quick nod, turning his attention quickly to Levi. 

“Levi, we need to talk. Now.” He stands up a little straighter, his voice lower, more controlled. “Somewhere private preferably.” Levi scoffs at that. Privacy is nonexistent tonight. 

“I can’t do this right now, Erwin. I have to get Isabel home and then I have a game to win. You’ll just have to get in line.” 

“ _ Please _ ,” he says, imploring. He leans down so that it’s mostly just between the two of them. “It’s about Eren.” 

“Erwin—” Levi starts to say, and then his friend is interrupting him, his face more resolute.

“Eren was involved in a prior round of Nerve.” He looks over at the boy leaning against the wall, keeping his eyes on him as he continues. “In that round, another Player died. Eren and  _ Jean,  _ who’s also in this game, were at the scene and the death is— suspicious.” 

At that Levi’s stomach drops, and he turns to catch Eren’s eyes. He’s dropped his hands and they hang at his sides where he’s pushed off the wall. Levi takes in his expression. It’s guilty and sad and Levi’s stomach does a flip, as Erwin keeps talking behind him. “He used that boy, did the same thing there that he’s doing with you— partnered up and got to the top.” He lowers his voice again. “I think this kid is dangerous and I don’t want you to get hurt, Levi. It’s best if you end this here and go on alone.” 

Levi just stares at Eren. He may like him, may feel some absurd connection to him, but this is Erwin and Petra and they wouldn’t  _ lie  _ to him, especially not about this. 

He asks the question, even though he’s pretty fucking certain he knows the answer.“Eren, is it true?” 

If he’s being honest, Levi doesn’t really want him to answer, doesn’t have the time or energy to deal with  _ that  _ on top of his sister lying and this dumb, dangerous fucking game. 

“ _ Levi--”  _  Eren puts his hands up in a placating gesture, but it has the opposite effect. Levi’s anger flares and he shakes his head as Eren continues. “It is and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but  _ please,  _ you have to hear me out.” 

He doesn’t really; he owes this kid nothing and Levi runs a frustrated hand through his hair. Isabel catches his attention, her expression confused yet still so damned stubborn as Erwin clears his throat, the noise insistent and grating. He looks back at Eren, who reaches a hand out to him with a soft call of his name, though he’s drowned out by Erwin’s deep voice and the growing noise of the crowd. Levi’s heart rate picks up, the blood rushing in his ears as he stands there, Eren quiet in front of him. 

“We don’t even know that Eren is his real name,” Erwin says.

And that’s what does it; the simplest bullshit statement that tips Levi full into fury and has him stalking towards Eren because he’s mad--he’s so  _ fucking mad  _ at everything. At this fucking kid for adding to the lies and using him and making Levi like him while he’s got some kind of agenda. A lie by omission is still a lie after all, and Eren stumbles backwards, his eyes pleading. He looks like he’s about to say something but the last thing Levi wants to do right now is listen to anything anyone has to say.  _ I don’t have time for this. _ Levi grits his teeth. “I don’t want to hear it, and I don’t care where or how, but you need to  _ get the fuck away from me _ .”

Eren bites his lip, his face twisted like he’s trying to decide what to do, like he’s thinking how best to get Levi to understand, but he finally nods, shifting reluctantly away. Levi sends up a silent thanks as Eren averts his eyes and that pleading, puppy dog stare is cut off. 

“Okay, okay. Levi just please--take care of yourself, alright? This game is more dangerous than you know.” He backs up further down the sidewalk, giving Levi one last apologetic look before he turns and heads off towards his car. 

Levi huffs out a breath as Eren goes, then turns and levels a glare at Isabel. “You,” he points at her, “are going home. No fucking arguments.” 

He turns to Erwin. “Do me a favor and get her home.” Erwin nods, and Levi side-eyes Isabel and Farlan. “You’re going with him. No bullshit, understand?” Is nods lightly, taking Farlan’s hand as Erwin steps to the side and starts to usher the couple away.  

“She’ll be fine, Levi.” The ‘ _ will you? _ ’ is unspoken but it’s there and Levi nods his thanks.

He watches them until they get to Erwin’s car, parked a little way up the street, and sighs frustrated and the smallest bit relieved as the car pulls away and he’s alone again. Except for the groups of people that still linger near the entrance of the building, probably disappointed by the lack of a fight. He leans back against the brick wall of the apartment, his fingers rubbing at his temples. He has a headache, but if nothing else, this whole clusterfuck has helped him make up his mind. He’s done with this game, done with the risks and fuck the money--it’s not worth dying for. Not his sister, not himself, not anyone. 

If Isabel is out of the game, then it’s just him who might face punishment. Plus if he’s honest, he’s hoping the power that these people have is a lie, that ‘snitches get stitches’ is a load of bull; that the police will be able to help keep him and other Players safe. He sees a cop parked a little up the road. If he tells them, maybe they’ll end this game and spare some lives, especially if the dares get worse then they have been. He pauses, remembering the warning from the video--‘snitches get stitches’. He knows the people who run this have a ridiculous amount of reach. They’re on social media, they’re in bank accounts. Isabel’s out of the game now and his account balance is effectively nothing until payday next week. If it’s just him, what’s the worse they could do?

Levi walks past the group to the cop car, his steps sure as he ignores all the suspicious glances cast his way. The windows of the car are tinted he realizes, but he knocks anyway and the window rolls down enough to reveal two officers, a man and woman, who each look at him with bothered expressions. He makes an annoyed sound. “Sorry to have to make you do your job, but I’ve got something you might want to take care.” The man in the passenger seat lifts an eyebrow but their faces remain largely disinterested, so Levi continues with a ‘tch’. “It’s a game of dares called Nerve and it goes way deeper than is comfortable. Illegal shit, bank accounts, private information...” Levi eyes them both but there’s  _ still nothing _ \--no movement, no flicker of responsibility and  _ what the fuck is going on here?  _ There’s urgency in his voice now. “This could actually get people killed tonight, you know. You need to do something. Confiscate, interrogate, do some fucking traces, you know, your jobs?” The woman’s body shifts as she lets out a huff and turns away from him towards her partner. The next thing Levi knows, the window is on its way up and he’s shut out. He kicks the car’s tire with a growl. “Or you could just sit with your fucking thumbs up your asses and let a whole bunch of dumbass kids get themselves killed!” Shaking his head, he steps away from the car and the urge to put his fist through the window. He paces back towards the sidewalk, the voices of the lingering teens behind him growing louder as he does. 

Levi doesn’t really know what to do now. He’s not a fucking detective. He can’t look into this by himself. He got Isabel out and he’s going to quit now. Something’s still nagging at him though,  _ someone _ that makes him angry and disappointed and just… sad, Levi realizes. Why did Eren lie and what the fuck happened with that kid? Erwin’s intuition is usually on point, but so is his and Eren is new and ridiculous but he’s not a  _ murderer.  _

He turns towards his car with an exhale, intent on going back home and getting the fuck away from this situation, but he’s stopped by a figure with a familiar face. Levi recognizes him as that Player with the fucked up hair--Jean. He’s a little taller than Eren and Levi has to look up because he’s so close. “What the fuck do you want?”

With a cocky smirk, the kid looks down at him. “Hey, no hard feelings about this okay?” That smirk is the last thing Levi sees before Jean’s fist comes down, the pain blossoming across his face before he blacks out.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated. Thank you for reading!


	7. Snitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [cw: there's implied death, though not explicit, in a piece of dialogue in the middle of the chapter - just a heads up]

“Farlan, do you have your own car in the city?” Erwin eyes the boy in the rear view mirror before setting his eyes back on the road. He figures it’s smarter to ask before they head out of LA, though he’s reasonably sure Isabel was the one who drove them in. Farlan is polite, shaking his head with a “no sir,” while he reaches his hand over the seat in offering to Isabel. Erwin sees her take it out the corner of his eye, their fingers lacing together at her shoulder.

He doesn’t mention it, just keeps his eyes on the road. Isabel is a good kid, he knows. This lapse in judgement doesn’t change that. She must be feeling off to so stubbornly ignore her brother’s request. Then again, she’s a teenager, and last time he checked, they were rather impulsive. Either way, he’s got a favor to complete for his friend and that means keeping Isabel safe and getting her home.

“Are you two hungry? It’ll take a little while but we could head to Scout’s on the way back home. I know Mike is on grill tonight.”

Isabel shakes her head. “With all due respect, and thank you for wanting to bring us home, but _no, sir._ ” She speaks quickly, her voice sure, unyielding. “I may not be in the game anymore but I’m not leaving my brother, I don’t care what he told you.”

The corner of Erwin’s mouth quirks at the familiar stubbornness. Isabel is so much like Levi, so full of that fierce determination that makes them such formidable pains in the ass. He hums his assent, there’s no point lying to her now, he wouldn’t feel right if he did.

“I respect your brother’s wishes, but I agree with you,” he says, coming up to a red light. “I don’t think it’s the best idea to leave him here on his own, not with the potential danger this game encourages.” He looks over at her, sees the moment her shoulders sag with relief.

“ _Thank god._ ” She leans back into her seat as the light turns green, and Erwin catches Farlan’s smile in the rearview mirror. The relieved moment passes quickly, Isabel shifting her body to look over at him. “So what’re we going to do? Should we go find Levi?”

Erwin opens his mouth to respond but is cut off by a loud blip in the car— an incoming call, and it transfers automatically to Bluetooth for easy access. He holds up his finger for silence. The voice that comes through is familiar and urgent.

“Erwin? It’s Petra. _What happened to Levi?”_ Erwin’s brows furrow in confusion and he tightens his hands on the wheel, merging to the right to slow down. Isabel answers for him, words edged in immediate concern.

“What do you mean, what happened to Levi?”

“Is that Isabel?” Petra asks.

“I’m taking her and Farlan home,” Erwin says, “and Levi was fine, we just left him.” But that might not be the case now, and it’s only been a few minutes. He knows Petra wouldn’t be calling, at least not with that worried tone, if Levi was alright. “Petra, did something happen?” He pulls off to the side of the street and shifts into park. Isabel’s on the edge of her seat, hands gripping her phone as she waits for the response.

They hear Petra exhale as she tries to keep her voice calm. “I was keeping tabs on the Players while you were at the party. I tried calling Levi before he took Isabel’s dare, but he didn’t answer me. The streams were dead after that, until I saw Jean’s open up. You weren’t there, but Levi was. Jean was filming him and Levi tried to tell the police about the game--Jean said ‘snitches get stitches’ and his dare was to--” her voice dips low, highlighting her anger, “-- _knock Levi out._ I saw Levi hit the ground and Jean’s face, then the stream ended and I have no idea what happened.”

“ _Fuck_ ,” Isabel says. Erwin shoots her a look, his eyebrow raised in question.

“Isabel,” Petra calls out, “Do you know what that means?”

“When you sign up as a Player, the welcome video tells you that you either win, you quit, or you fail. They expect you to follow the rules. If you don’t— if it gets too dangerous and you think you can end it by telling the police, they’ll stop you. I didn’t try it obviously, but whoever runs this? I don’t think they’re lying when they say ‘snitches get stitches.’ Jean’s just their pawn.” When she looks up and meets Erwin’s eyes, there’s a fire edged with fear in her own. “We have to find my brother.”

Farlan leans forward, rubbing her shoulders. “We’ll find him, Is. These people could be bluffing for all we know. He might be fine.” His voice is louder as he speaks. “Petra, this is Farlan. Is there anything we can do?”

“Hi hon,” she answers, “I don’t know. We have no idea what they’ve done with him, if he’s okay or…”

Erwin clears his throat. “Petra, do you think your friend Hanji could be of help?”

“I can call her and see. She could trace Levi’s cell, if he still has it.” She hums, like she’s considering something. “I’ll need you guys to go to her place,” her voice takes on an amused tone, despite the worry. “I warn you, she’s a little—”

Erwin chuckles at Petra’s amused hesitation. This is for their friend, Isabel’s _brother_ , they’ll deal with whatever they need to if it helps him.

“What’s the address, Petra?”

\-----

The first thing Levi registers is the pounding of his head and pain around his left cheek and eye. Opening his eye hurts and it takes a second for the image to clear, but he can still see, thank fuck. He remembers what happened; Jean and a fist flying towards him— “ _no hard feelings”._

 _Yeah, right,_ Levi scoffs, pushing himself up onto his knees to look around. Wherever he is, it’s dimly lit--the only source of light a neon glow emanating from the perimeter of the floor. He sees the first wall a few short feet ahead of him and then three others to his back and sides. _Oh no, oh fucking no._ His heart races as he scrambles up, throwing his weight at the wall in front of him. When it doesn’t move he flips back against it with a grunt, eyes shifting rapidly around the space.

He’s had nightmares about this since before his mother died: waking up in a box, unable to escape. It’s bigger than a coffin, but it’s four suffocating walls and all he can think is _out, get out._ He can’t see anything, no latch, no opening, nothing to get him fresh air. Deep breaths help a little to halt the panic, but his heart still thunders in his chest, and he keeps his eyes closed to center himself.

When Levi opens them he notices what he hadn’t before: his cell phone lying next to where he woke up. Relief floods through him and he ducks to grab it, but freezes in place as the lights in the box go out. He can just feel his phone with his fingertips as they brush against the cold of the metal floor. He reaches out, pressing a tip to the home button to illuminate the screen. It turns out to be unnecessary because a second later, the walls of the box are covered in flashing yellow neon. _Snitches get stitches._ He stands up straight, the same computerized voice from the beginning of this filtering through some unseen speaker.

“Hello Levi. You’ve broken the rules. We told you not to snitch, now you are our prisoner. We control your life. We control your family. We control your future. The only way out is to win in the final round. Your job now is to wait for further instruction. See you in the finals.”

Something metallic shifts behind him and Levi sees now what the panic didn’t let him before: a handle on the bottom of a wall. He hurries to it and pulls up, wincing at the loud drag as the door whips upwards and he flies outside. Fresh air fills his lungs as he leans on his knees, his eyes shut tight in relief. At least until a frustratingly familiar voice breaks the silence.

“Levi?”

He doesn’t have to see Eren to picture the look on his face as he speaks--puppy dog eyes and a small concerned frown. It’s aggravatingly cute and irritating at the same time, and he’s not even looking at the kid.

He focuses on the box he came out of instead of dealing with him. It’s a shipping container, all huge with chipped paint, and set in the middle of a random fucking lot as far as he can tell.

Eren doesn’t take the hint. “Levi, are you alright? Listen, I’m sorry about--”

Levi really should let him finish, but he can’t stop himself. “Sorry about what? Are you sorry you didn’t tell me the truth from the beginning or are you sorry you got caught?” He’s being an asshole, he knows, but he’s so fucking done and his voice grows louder. “Is Eren even your real name? And how did you find me?”

“Eren is my real name!” he yells back. He runs his fingers through his hair, tugging at the strands. “I found you because I followed them when they took you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth from the beginning. I _should_ have, but I didn’t know how long you’d be in the game and I didn’t want to bother you with my bullshit.” Levi scoffs. Eren doesn’t sound like he’s lying, but it’s still ridiculous. “I’m their prisoner too, so will you at least hear me out?” Eren pleads.

Levi shrugs, leaning against the exterior of the box. There’s no word on the final dare yet and there’s still a _feeling_ there despite bullshit lies.“Fine.”

Eren exhales, walking closer to stand in front of Levi. “Last year, I joined Nerve because my mom got sick and I needed fast money. My father left us the year before and it was just my sister Mikasa and me. Mom couldn’t work anymore and we couldn’t afford her treatments so when I heard about the game, I thought it would be easy cash--get in, win, get out. You remember Jean, yeah?” He winces as he says it, rubbing a hand at the back of his neck. “Sorry. Okay so, Jean was, _is_ , my friend. He’s not really the asshole he’s acting like. He joined the game with me. No reason other than he thought it’d be fun to mess around and see if he could beat me.” There’s a ghost of a smile before his face falls again. “His boyfriend Marco joined too. Marco was good guy, not reckless but he thought he might beat us both if we burned ourselves out.”

Levi stays silent against the container, watches as a haunted look settles on Eren’s face.

“It was the middle of the game. We were all on the leaderboard together, and things had been ridiculous but fun. I was going to win--or I was on track to at least--and then Jean, Marc and I got a dare to go to Rose Park and climb one of the big ass trees there.” He moves, settling next to Levi and drops his head back against the wall. “Get to the top and take a selfie with the skyline in the background.” He tosses his hands, and Levi presses his shoulder against Eren’s in silent comfort. He knows where this is going, can tell it’s difficult for Eren to relive and the last bit of his irritation melts away as Eren continues, his voice quiet and regretful.

“The tree was strong, we were halfway up--me at the top, Jean and Marco right behind and I thought it was all good. Then I heard bark tear below me and a grunt and I looked down and Marco had slipped on a branch. Jean had him by the hand, but there was no branch for him to drop Marco down to on that side. I tried to get down to help, but Jean yelled and then Marco was falling and I watched him drop. He hit every branch--” Levi breathes in sharply. He can picture it and the image is fucking horrific. Eren grabs his hand, though it doesn’t feel deliberate to Levi, just a subconscious impulse that Levi has no desire to push away.

“Jean was a fucking wreck. I called 911 and they came quickly, but it was too late. We tried to tell them about Nerve--that it was dangerous and it’s why Marco was--they just thought we were making the whole thing up. Jean and I didn’t realize there were Watchers in the park too. They got us when we were leaving and when we woke up, we were separated, both prisoners of the game.” Eren pushes off the wall, still holding Levi’s hand. “ _Snitches get stitches_ ,” he mutters, shaking his head with a slight sniffle. His eyes are wet, pricked but frustrated tears that Levi wants to wipe away. He doesn’t. It feels too much like erasing whatever sorrow Eren feels, so he gives his hand a squeeze instead. Eren gives him a sad smile, furiously wiping at his eyes with his free hand. “They take everything, Levi. Your money, your name, everything about you and your family belongs to them. They don’t care if someone dies in the process--”

“ _Eren_ \--”

“Sorry, I’m sorry. I just miss her, you know? But I’m okay. My sister is living with my best friend and his grandfather. They make sure we don’t have to worry. I’ll get out of this game eventually.” His voice drops, anger flitting across his features. “I’d tear it down if I could. Put a stop to this whole godforsaken thing and then everyone who’s trapped could move on. ”

Levi nods. He’s mad--at whoever the hell is behind this-- _because where the hell do these people get off_ ? _How do they even have power like this?_ It’s a fucking nightmare and now he’s stuck and his sister, his sister is fucked because of him. If he could— if he knew how, he’d shut the game down, get Eren and himself out and away and then maybe they could…

“So I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that right away when we partnered up. But I know what to do now.” Their eyes meet and Eren’s gaze is determined.  “I’m going to help you win.” He says it with a sharp smile--like he’s getting back at someone, like a win for Levi is a victory for him too.

For Levi, it’s tempting. In the grand scheme, Eren doesn’t matter really. He doesn’t mean anything compared to Isabel and Levi’s responsibilities. But that thought leaves a bad taste in his mouth, and again he’s struck by how quickly Eren’s become a consideration instead of an obstacle. So even though it’s what he should do, Levi can’t bring himself to take the offer. He lets go of Eren’s hand.

“Kid, I appreciate it but--” he’s interrupted by Eren’s phone. It’s another dare, Levi knows, but before Eren disappears, he has to tell him no, that he’s been stuck in this game long enough and he can take care of himself.

“Perfect,” Eren says, not letting Levi speak. “Listen, Levi, I’m going to take this dare and whatever I get until the end and I’ll pass Jean up. It’ll be me and you in the final, and then you’ll win. I’ll get you out of here, okay? I promise.” He taps at his phone and starts backing away.

“ _Wait, Eren_ \--” but it’s too late, Eren’s already running away, tossing a ‘see you soon’ over his shoulder. Levi sighs. “ _Fuck._ ” He takes out his phone and starts dialing. Isabel picks up on the first ring.

“Is? Please tell me you’re still in the city.”

\-----

It turns out that Levi’s not far from the where the party was and thankfully, neither are Erwin, Isabel, and Farlan. He makes his way out to a nearby street, and in a few minutes Isabel’s directions have Erwin pulling quickly up to the curb where Levi waits. Isabel jumps out and launches herself at Levi, nearly knocking him over.

“I’m sorry, Levi,” she whispers into his shoulder. He hugs her back tightly, pressing a kiss to her hair.

“Don’t worry about it.” He pulls away, thinking of Marco and the story Eren told him. He’s just grateful his sister is alive and well. “Let’s get going, alright?” Isabel nods and Farlan pushes open the back door so she can slide in, while Levi takes her seat up front.

“Thanks,” he says to Erwin, “for doing all this.” Erwin nods in acknowledgment, but otherwise stays silent. Levi presses his head back against the leather headrest, closing his eyes with a deep breath. Isabel clears her throat.

“What happened, Levi? Petra called us and said Jean _punched_ you?” Levi sighs, rubbing at his still throbbing face as he silently sends Petra his thanks. She’s probably part of the reason why they’re still in the city.

“Yes. After you guys pulled away, I saw a cop car. I was so pissed at this damn game, I thought maybe they’d help, get it shut down and we could all go the fuck home. But when I told them about it, they just acted like assholes, completely ignored me. I was headed back to the car, and then Jean was in my face. He knocked me out and when I woke up, I was in a shipping container. Eren found me— he’d followed the people who brought me there, got me out of the box.”

“You’re not hurt other than your face? What about ‘snitches get stitches’?” Isabel asks, concerned eyes scanning his face and clothes.

“It’s metaphorical, not literal.” Levi answers, staring out the window as the car starts moving. “They take your identity, your family’s identities, money, everything. You become their prisoner. So now my only way out is if I win the final round.” He tilts his head, casting a glance at Erwin. “Eren’s their prisoner. Jean too. The kid that died, it was an accident. When they tried to go to the police, whoever’s in charge did the same thing to them that they’re doing to me.”

“They’re stuck until they win, then.” This time it’s Erwin who speaks. It’s not a question, and Levi knows his friend is considering the issue, that there are now _three_ people vying for freedom. He puts his turn signal on, edging the car onto a larger street.

Levi makes an affirmative sound. “Basically. But Eren--he wants to take the fall in the final round. He wants to help me get out.”

“And _you_ want to help _him_ get out.” Farlan’s voice is low and considerate. Levi quirks an eyebrow, tossing the boy a look over his shoulder as Isabel stares, her eyes surprised. Farlan laughs, looking between them. “I know I’m quiet, but I’m not _blind._ ”

“He’s right.” Isabel shifts her eyes to Levi, giving him a pointed look. “Levi, you might not want to admit it or whatever, but I know you. You really like this guy, don’t you?”

Levi doesn’t say anything, and that’s all Isabel needs for a sly smile to appear on her face. “Okay,” she says, clapping her hands. “Let’s shut this game down.”    

He looks at her, curious. “How?”

Erwin answers for her. “Let’s find out,” he says, and speeds up the car.

\-----

“You said she’s a friend of Petra’s?” Levi asks as they pull up to their destination a little while later, an arcade called 3DM. It looks like every other arcade Levi’s ever seen, neon lights and faded posters for games decorating the windows. People linger outside, smoking or on their phones, and he can see more inside huddled around various games. He’s not sure how the person who runs this arcade will be any help to them, but Petra wouldn’t have sent them here if she wasn’t capable.

Erwin shifts the car into park. “She’s the one who helped us with sign-up. Petra trusts her.”

Levi nods and the four of them exit the car and head into the arcade. Isabel leads them straight to the desk, attended by a girl with long mahogany hair and an eggroll hanging half out of her mouth. When she sees them she pulls the roll out of her mouth and smiles.

“Hi there! I’m Sasha,” she says, leaning forward on the desk. “Welcome to 3DM!

Isabel smiles back at her. “Hey, we’re looking for Hanji. Is she around?”

Sasha drops her egg roll back into takeout container at her side. “Yep! Follow me.” She rounds the corner of the desk, and walks backwards, facing them. “She’s trying to beat the high score on Galaga. Well...she has been for a few years now but…”

Levi slows down to walk next to Erwin, his voice low as Sasha babbles on. “Did Petra say _what_ this Hanji could do for us?”

“ _Now_ you’re skeptical of someone? You went right off with Eren, no questions asked.” Levi narrows his eyes.  

“Shut up.” He watches Sasha dodge a group of younger kids, turning right down a row lined with even more of them. “But point taken.”

He sees Erwin smirk and shakes his head, focusing on Sasha’s path through the games. They hear the mysterious Hanji before they see her. A cackle echoes in front of them, followed by a thump and Levi can just see a fist pump into the air. Sasha turns around at the end of the line of games, stepping to the side as she gestures towards a figure stationed at a Galaga machine.

“This is the boss. Hanji, you’ve got visitors!”

Hanji jumps excitedly as she turns towards the group. “Sasha, did you see that! I finally beat him! Oh boy, does he owe me now!” Levi watches as she moves back to enter the initials HZ at the top of the scoreboard and notes the several MAZs listed underneath her name with a quirk of his eyebrow.

“Now,” Hanji grins at them. “What can I do for you?” When she spots Levi and Isabel, her face lights up in recognition. “You two! You’re Players!” She claps her hands and steps closer to them. “You’re Levi! You must be Petra’s friends.” Hanji lowers her voice, and though he’s only been near her for a few minutes, he gets the idea this doesn’t happen often. “I’ve been watching you. I was thinking of joining myself, but Petra was so worried I thought it might be better if I stuck around here.”

Erwin steps forward, reaching his hand out to Hanji. “We appreciate you doing so. If you don’t mind cutting to the chase, Petra thinks you can be of help to us. Do you have somewhere we can speak privately?”

Hanji shakes his hand and gestures to a door a little ways down from them. “Right this way.”

The room she takes them to is darkly lit and full of computers. People cluster around several of them, laughing and talking amongst themselves. They shout greetings when they see Hanji, and a few wave at the group, but they generally ignore the arrival of new people.

“So how can I help you?,” Hanji asks as she heads over to an empty desk in the corner. She sits down in the chair, a glint in her eye. “Is this for Nerve? Is it going to be dangerous?” She looks at Levi curiously. “I assume Petra told you about Eren, is that why he’s not here?”

He eyes her wearily, but starts to explain. “We need your help to shut down Nerve. Eren told me what happened in the last round of the game, that he and that guy Jean tried to go to the police after their friend died. Well now they’re prisoners. Whoever runs this fucking game has total control of them--money, names, their _families_ \--they’re stuck playing until they win.” He watches her expression go from wildly thrilled to disgusted yet interested, like she’s mad it’s possible but the _how_ of it is still fascinating.

“And you want to get your boy out?” She gives him a knowing look over the glasses she wears, and Levi swears under his breath. Is he really _that_ obvious? Hanji laughs. “You guys are so cute together.”

He shakes his head at her. She’s ridiculous, but she’s also right.

“Eren wants to give up his chance to get out so that I can. I just want this fucking thing over. No one else gets hurt, no one else gets trapped. We shut it down and walk away.”

“Is it even possible?” Erwin asks.

Levi crosses his arms.

“It better fucking be.”

The door they came in through opens and a man carrying a bag of takeout shuffles through. “Mobi,” Hanji calls, “perfect timing!” When he notices them he smiles, heading for the desk and dropping the bag on its surface. He pulls out a container, pops the lid and pulls out a fork, sliding it in front of Hanji.

“Eat,” he says, then looks to the group. “Hi, I’m Moblit.” He looks at Levi and Isabel, recognition settling there the same way it had for Hanji. “Are you two out of the game? I was sure at least one of you would be going to the final.” Before either can answer, Hanji speaks up.

“Mobi, they want to end the game. Did we figure out how they were keeping it going?” She stabs her fork into a piece of chicken, shoving it in her mouth. “When Petra first called me, we got curious so I asked my dear Moblit to look into it.”

“It was really Hanji,” he says, gesturing back at her as he walks to the computers, “she helped us figure out that the game isn’t a massive server based unit. Every watcher that signs up for Nerve acts as their own server, so we can’t just find the backdoor to it and close up shop.”

Levi hears Farlan groan behind him. “You’re saying you’d need a mass exit.” He smacks his head and Levi tosses him a surprised look.

“Exactly,” Moblit agrees. “To get it down, we’d need to get _every single watcher_ to disconnect at roughly the same time.”

“How do you even do that?” It sounds fucking impossible, and Levi wants to yell. He didn’t expect it to be one and done, but fuck if he thought it would be like this. Hanji pops out of her seat and heads over to where Moblit stands, wrapping her arms around him.

“Well Levi, we have a plan.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated. Thank you for reading!


	8. Shoot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [cw: guns are present in this chapter and one is fired, though there's no violence or death]

The street is unusually deserted when Levi heads out of the arcade on his own, the small clusters of people that were there earlier now missing. He wonders briefly how many--if any--of them are Watchers, if they’re watching him now from somewhere he can’t see. He wonders how many will be there when the final dare happens.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he makes his way down the sidewalk with no particular destination. Aside from the sound of cars a few streets down, it’s silent and while it should help him feel calm, it just makes him feel more overwhelmed. He doesn’t know if this plan is going to work, doesn’t know if they’ll be able to free Jean and Eren and himself in the process, but he knows he can trust his friends. If they believe in Hanji, he guesses he should too.

Before he left, Levi had checked the leaderboard to see Eren’s name just below his. They hadn’t been watching his stream, focusing instead on formulating a plan, but  whatever he did when he promised Levi he’d help, it worked. Levi’s just glad at least that went right.

His phone goes off as he rounds the corner of the street, a bright yellow message greeting him as he takes his phone out. _Welcome to the final round,_ **_@Cap._ ** _Head to the Los Angeles Public Library._ There’s no option to deny or accept, so he knows there’s no getting out, even if he wanted to. No timer shows up either, but he rolls his shoulders, bringing up the directions on his phone, and takes off at a run.

When he arrives at the library, there’s a few more people milling about outside than he expects. They sit on the stairs, at a fountain, and linger near the entrance up in the distance. He scans the area, running, counting the people he sees and looking to see if any are familiar. They’re not, but he doesn’t have to worry about it because his phone is going off and the message there has nothing to do with people. _A package is waiting for you at the fountain. Take it and proceed to the Hollywood Pacific Theatre._ Again there’s no timer, but Levi can’t focus on that because he looks up in time to see one of the people near the water dash away, a small brown bag laying in their place. He narrows his eyes, casting another glance around him. It’s even more irritating--the idea that he really _can’t_ know who’s a part of the game. There’s nothing he can do so he jogs over to the fountain and snatches the package before anyone innocent notices.

Sticking to the shadows, he walks quickly away from the library. He chances a quick look in the bag, though he doesn’t really have to; the shape of the object inside is unmistakable. He can just see the line of the gun, his jaw tensing as he crumples the bag in his fist. He’s never held a gun before, and if he’s honest the thought of even pointing one in someone’s direction makes him sick. When Hanji told them the plan, he’d bristled at the first mention of the weapon. But he realizes how fucked up Nerve is, and that it’ll take something just as fucked up to get what they need. He doesn’t know if it’ll pay off or if he’ll get shot in the process and the whole thing will be for nothing.

What happens if the people in charge find out what they’re doing? Will they mess everything up, find a way to keep him in the game? What happens if he gets shot for real? Will they free the person responsible for a ‘win’, or screw with them too?

Levi heads for the street. It’ll take him too long to get where he needs to on foot, so he’ll need to find a ride. There’s cabs going this way and that on the crowded street, but none near him are open. Either way, they’re his best bet short of grand theft auto. While he waits for an opening to grab a taxi, Levi thinks about Eren. Has he ever used a gun before? Is he freaking out, those green eyes burning and frustrated as he makes his way to the theatre? He’s mostly likely trying to figure out what to do, how to not use the weapon that probably feels like dead weight.

Levi knows it’s ridiculous to be so certain of someone so quickly, but he is. Eren may have omitted the truth, but beyond that they’ve done the same thing tonight haven’t they? Used each other and then realized there was something more there?

He sees a cab on it’s way to him and sticks his arm out to hail it down. Eren won’t fuck him over, he knows it. But damn Hanji and her fucking plan with guns. It makes him jittery. If any part of this goes badly…

The cab pulls up in front of him and he slides in, holding the gun tight in his lap. “Hollywood Pacific Theatre--fast as you can.”

\-----

As far as Levi knows, the Pacific Theatre has been closed down for a number of years, abandoned even though it’s located smack on Hollywood Boulevard. He also knows that trespassing is still very much a thing with abandoned buildings, so he’s not sure _how_ exactly they’re getting in without a law enforcement clusterfuck happening, but he can’t really bring himself to care. The building is dark from the outside when his cab pulls up nearly 20 minutes later, lit only by nearby streetlights and the headlights of passing cars. It makes him weary, but he tosses his money at the driver and slides out, the brown bag clutched in his hand. The front of the theatre is blacked out by barred gates, the only viable entrance a single door hidden in the blockade. He breathes deep and looks around him at the few people making their way past the theatre on either side of the street, then when he’s sure no one will notice, wraps his knuckles quickly on the door.

A girl opens it, poking her head out to peer down at Levi. She grins, like she’s genuinely glad to see him.

“We’ve been waiting for you!” She pulls the door open enough for him to slip through into the dimly lit lobby, then shuts it tightly behind them and flips the locks. “I just need to see the package before you head up.”

Levi shoots her a surprised look. She can’t be more than Isabel’s age, yet here she is, asking to see the fucking gun like it’s some normal thing. He hands her the bag and she slips the piece out with an approving nod. “Good, you’re all set!” She hands him the gun and crumples the bag in one hand, gesturing with the other to a set of stairs down the hall. “Go right up those steps and through the double doors,” she says with a wink. “The final dare awaits.”

Pointing the gun at the floor, he nods almost imperceptibly at her and turns away. Around him, the interior of the theatre is fading, all chipped paint and debris strewn about,caused by an earthquake Levi remembers vaguely. There was enough damage to take the building out of commission. Whatever furniture there was must been stolen or tossed in the trash, and it leaves the inside feeling deserted, desolate in a way that contrasts so oddly to the muffled noise he can hear coming from up ahead.  

He takes the stairs slowly and as he does, he can hear the crowd inside grow louder and louder. They cheer for something or someone, he can’t tell what, but it makes his skin crawl. He feels like he’s walking into some gruesome ritual, and he tells himself over and over again that there’s a plan He just has to follow the plan. It doesn’t stop the itch under his skin or the gun from feeling like a lead weight in his hand, warm and pressing. Levi hates the feel of it.

A guy waits at the doors at the top of the second set of stairs, his eyebrow quirked as Levi comes to stand on the landing next to him. He speaks quickly, like Levi’s been a thorn in his side all night long. “Took you long enough. Ready?” He doesn’t even wait for an answer, just places his hands on the doors and shoves them open without warning.

The lighting inside the theatre is dark, and Levi has to let his eyes adjust to the difference as the crowd inside cheers. Ahead of him is an aisle that separates two large sections of seats, both filled with silhouetted Watchers. More stand in the balconies set into the upper part of the walls. He can see some of them staring at him in the dim light that reaches from the hallway, nameless faces that make him want to turn right back out the door. He can’t though, because at the other end of the room, under the gigantic movie screen is a stage, and Eren is at the center of it, turning this way and that. Spotlights from above the stage glare down at him as he moves, and Levi notices patches of something dark staining the crisp white of the button up he wears. Levi can’t see his face, but he can see the familiar shape and glint of silver in Eren’s back pocket. His stomach sinks, but he takes a few steps into the theatre and the double doors swing closed behind him.

“Levi?” Eren calls out to him, his hand above his eyes to block out what light he can.

Levi tries to respond, but a loud chord of synth blares from the theatre’s old speaker system. It’s a signal and Levi takes off down the aisle, running to meet Eren on the stage. The light above them goes out, and this time the delivery of the dare is different. It doesn’t appear on their phones, no short trill or small neon message to give them a choice. Instead, the words appear on the movie screen, the large yellow letters offensively bright in the dark. The dare is disgusting in its simplicity: _Shoot your opponent._

It’s Eren who reacts first. His voice is soft and pleading, and he smiles sadly as he takes Levi’s hand. “Hey, we talked about this. You’re going to win and you’re going to get the hell away from this game.” There’s something in his voice, a thread of tenacity in the face of fucked up shit that has the corner of Levi’s mouth twitching up in spite of himself. A small point of light appears at the corner of his vision, and he turns in time to see more rise to join it. Flashlights, he guesses, from each of the Watchers’ phones, and they cast a wave of bright light on directly onto the stage.

It’s nearly blinding, and Levi feels like a deer in headlights, waiting for something terrible to come barrelling towards him.

“I really don’t want to do this,” Levi says as Eren starts backing up, the crowd roaring louder around them. A timer appears on the screen-- _ten seconds._

_Fuck._

The grin Eren gives him is terrible and forced, like he’s trying desperately to convey some semblance of confidence. “Just try not to kill me, yeah?” _Eight seconds._

Levi scoffs. _The plan, follow the plan._ He hates this game, hates that people are actually willing to support this shit to the point that it calls for extremes, that they’re waiting for he and Eren to shoot each other like it’s some kind of sport. But Levi does what he’s supposed to and raises his gun, aiming for Eren’s shoulder because he can’t bear to aim anywhere else. It still amazes him that Eren is willing to do this for him, that even though they’re basically in the same situation, he’s willing to take the loss and let Levi do what he has to for his family. Even though it won’t happen, it’s not lost on Levi that if things were different, he could kill Eren here-- _he could kill him_ and then Levi would have blood on his hands, and he’d never get to see the kid again. No bratty humor or ridiculous logic, no singing on tables or car make outs--and around him the crowd calls out “3...2...1…!”

Levi doesn’t pull the trigger, just drops the gun at his side to Eren’s confusion and the sound of disappointed shouts. The timer stays put on _0:00_.

“Levi, why--”

“I won’t do it. I’m not hurting you.” Eren shakes his head at that, but Levi can see the suspicion in his eyes. He needs Eren to naturally play this part, even though it’s horribly unfair to keep him in the dark.

Someone in the crowd stands up, the beam of light from their flashlight shifting erratically. Their shout breaks through the disgruntled murmur of their peers. “What’s wrong with you? Shoot him!”

Eren turns in the direction of the Watcher’s voice, squinting his eyes. “Why don’t you come down here and do it yourself, you coward! Come down here and show us all how goddamn brave you are!” The response is a chorus of shouts, angry and chaotic in the faceless crowd.

Then a voice cuts through it all, catching the theatre off guard.

“Blah, blah, blah!” The pair looks up to see Jean, standing at the railing of one of the balconies. “So angry!” He says it with a smirk, looking down at the people around him and Levi can tell by his clenched jaw and fists that Eren wants to knock the look right off of Jean. “Clearly they’re not that interested in winning,” Jean calls out, and some of the crowd shouts their agreement. He nods at them, pointing to himself. “But I sure as hell am!” He whips out a gun from the waist of his jeans, holding it above his head as he points his finger at Eren and Levi.

“Who wants to see me shoot one of them?” The crowd cheers, and Levi grabs Eren by the arm as he starts towards Jean.

“Don’t.”

Eren whips his head towards Levi, searching his eyes.

“But he’s out of his…” he stops, and together they watch the screen above them change. It looks like a poll: _Should Jean take the dare instead? Yes or No,_ followed by a timer that gives the Watchers thirty seconds to vote.

The audience claps and shouts as Jean starts gesturing between the two of them, gauging which one of them should be his target by listening to the Watcher’s applause. Their enthusiasm pisses Levi off, but he gives Jean a minute to do his part, then steps out in front of Eren, shouting to get their attention.

“What the fuck is wrong with you people? You think because you’re hiding behind some bullshit screen that you’re not responsible for this? Not responsible for every single fucked up thing that happens in this game?  Well here’s a goddamn newsflash, you are! This--whatever happens here is on your hands.” He looks at Eren, silent, with that fire in his eyes that gives Levi all the more courage to keep going, to play his part. “There may be no proof, but every day you’ll remember you were a part of this, that you encouraged people to do dumb shit that got them hurt, that you were responsible for what might be a fucking _death_.” He makes eye contact with who he can, but the vast majority of the people in both the balconies and floor sections are invisible to him. “Ask yourself if you can live with that before you make a choice. No regrets.”

A loud noise sounds as the timer hits zero some seconds later, and a giant _YES_ replaces the numbers. From behind him, Levi feels Eren grab his hand and squeeze. Up in the balcony, Jean barks out a laugh and drops down to the floor in a crouch. “I don’t know about you,” he says eyeing Levi and strutting to the stage, “but I won’t regret a thing.”

Levi raises his eyebrows at him. _Fuck, the guy is good._ “Think you’re fucking invincible, yeah? No regrets, no fuck ups?” Jean doesn’t respond, just puts his nose in the air like he’s so much better than them and lets Levi continue. “Okay you fuckwit, then I dare you to shoot me.”

There’s a collective moment of silence in the theatre, enough for him to hear Eren’s voice alone. “Levi, no! What are you doing?”

There’s another loud sound as the screen reveals a new dare-- _Shoot Levi--_ with another ten seconds to get it done. Eren starts to speak again, but Jean is already moving, pointing the gun at Levi. His smile is wicked as he looks and him, closing one eye to take aim. “You got it.”

Levi gives Eren one last look, sees the wild confusion is his eyes and the first shift of his body as he moves towards Jean. But it’s too late, there’s a flash and a bang and then Levi’s dropping, curling in on himself to grab at his side as he squeezes his eyes shut. The crowd gasps as one and Levi peeks out, listens to the shuffle as Eren and Jean hit the floor in front of the stage. He shifts a little, watching Jean’s gun skid noisily away from them, a metallic scraping juxtaposed to the sickly muted thud of Eren’s fist connecting with Jean’s face.

He cringes as Eren punches him again, then exhales when he shoves away from Jean, crawling towards Levi with a devastated expression.

“Oh god, Levi. _Levi please_.” Eren’s looking at him, but he’s not really seeing him, his frantic and watery eyes the last thing Levi sees before he lets his own fall shut again.

 _It’s okay, kid, it’ll be okay,_ Levi thinks. He feels himself being tugged forward and up, then a tight warmth as Eren holds him in his arms. 

“I’m sorry, Levi--I’m so sorry.” His voice is raspy, and Levi thinks maybe he’s actually crying. In the middle of everything, it’s good to know he’s made just as much an impression on Eren as the kid’s made on him.

\-----

It takes Petra longer than she’d like to get into the city, and even longer to get to Hanji’s arcade because of the crowded city streets. She’s grateful that Mike told her to go when he did, and even though Levi has already left to carry out part of his plan, she’ll still be there with Isabel and the others to make sure everything goes accordingly.

When she finally arrives and makes her way through to Hanji’s office, her friends are clustered around a few computers in the back. Erwin stands near the back, observing the others’ actions. He nods when he sees her and she takes that as a good sign.

“Petra!” Hanji calls, leaning out from behind one of the desktops. “Come over here and see what we’ve got.”

Petra drops her stuff near the door and makes her way over, greeting Isabel and Farlan as they shift to let her stand behind Hanji. Each of the computer screens is a wall of fast moving text, and she can see IP addresses and several sets of codes scrolling rapidly.

Hanji drops her head back against Petra’s stomach and looks up at her. “You know how each of the Watchers was acting as an individual server? Well Moblit figured out how to break through the multilayer encryption the game was using to pull real IPs and data. It’s tricky, but we’ll be able to send them all a private message just like we planned.” Then her eyes light up and she claps her hands excitedly. “You know, Levi and Jean played their parts so well that the crowd is completely silent. It’s perfect!” She motions to a flat screen on the wall in front of them where they’re running one of Nerve’s streams.

Petra knows what plan was, knows that Levi is just acting for the sake of succeeding, but seeing him act like he’s truly injured--held tightly in Eren’s arms as the boy cries above him--makes her nauseous. What’s worse is that Eren doesn’t even seem to realize that Levi isn’t bleeding. He must be so traumatised, so scared of losing someone who’s quickly become important to him that he isn’t paying attention. Petra doesn’t blame him. Isabel had filled her in when she called with their plan, and Petra can’t bring herself to hold the anything against Eren, especially not after Isabel hinted at Levi’s deepening feelings for him. As sad as it is to see Eren so upset, his genuine reaction is exactly what they hoped for.

Erwin clears his throat and Petra glances back at him as he reaches out to touch her shoulder. “Levi is fine. He did very well, and the other boy Jean came through just like Levi said he would.”

She nods at him, knowing that underneath his composure he’s also bothered by the sight. The sick feeling in the pit of her stomach lessens, but she still wants to get this over with as fast as they’re able. Petra turns back to Moblit and Hanji.

“Okay, what do you need from me?”

Moblit smiles up at her. “Can you help us get the message set up? We’re nearly done linking to the Watchers’ individual servers, and Hanji is almost connected to that main line in the theatre. You get that message rigged up and we’ll broadcast immediately.” He gestures to the computer next to him where the scrolling information has settled on a single open window awaiting use.

Petra settles into a seat and gets to work, fingers moving rapidly over keys. Her eyes flick to the tv screen every few seconds to make sure Levi’s alright, but otherwise she’s able to finish the set up rather quickly. Giving Hanji the all clear on her end, she stands up and heads closer to the tv. Eren is speaking, still clutching an unmoving Levi to his chest.

“Do you see what you’ve done?” He cries out, and Petra winces at the force of it. She wishes they could have told him before all this, but she makes herself keep watching.  “Was this worth it for you? All fun and fucking games? Well you can’t take it back! There’s no goddamn do-over, you fucking assholes.” His voice cracks on the last part and he looks down at Levi’s face, mouth forming words that Petra can’t hear.

Her heart wrenches in her chest. Eren really does care about Levi, and Isabel comes to stand next to her, their shoulders brushing. “I hate seeing him like that,” she mutters. “I know it’s exactly what we needed, but I don’t ever want to see my big brother like this again.”

“I know, Isabel.” Petra gives her a small smile. “This will all be over soon, okay?”

Behind them Hanji cackles, pointing excitedly at the screen.“Alright my little computer wiz, initiate the callout!”

\-----

Lying to Eren like this has Levi’s skin crawling. It’s horrible to make him believe he’s been shot, but it’s almost over. Levi just has to stay still. He just has to keep acting like he’s dead, eyes closed and unmoving until his friends come through. If he stays like that, quietly curled in on himself, Eren hopefully won’t realize that something is off. So far, he hasn’t checked Levi for any blood, hasn’t felt for a wound or a heartbeat. The only thing Eren’s done is hold him, and Levi chalks Eren’s inattentiveness up to the adrenaline and emotion he has to be feeling. _It’s fine_ , Levi tells himself, _it’s exactly what we needed._

“ _Fuck_ , Levi,” Eren says, tears rolling from his cheeks to drop onto Levi’s face. “I’m sorry, I should told you to quit when we met, to run as far as you could away from this fucking game.”

It’s true; he probably should have. But Levi made his own choice. The whole night he’s made his own choices, and the last thing he’s going to do is hold any of them against Eren. He stays still as Eren continues. “I wish we could have--” Music floods through the speakers, interrupting Eren, and Levi nearly sighs in relief. Above him, Eren turns slightly and stares at the screen. Levi peeks, just able to see the words there.

 _You are all accessories to murder._ It’s the first step and Levi knows that right now the second step is happening: a private call out to all the Watchers, letting them know their identity and involvement in Nerve will be publicized. Levi’s not even sure they’ve figured out how to, knows they were counting on the Watchers’ humanity here. There’s a single sharp intake on breath from the crowd, his only sign that something further has happened than he can see.

“ _What?_ ” Eren’s confused voice is soft and Levi wants to reach up, wipe the wetness from Eren’s eyes and kiss him just for existing. He only has to wait a little bit more…

The audience murmurs around them, voices low as they discuss. All they have to do is log out. That’s all Levi’s friends need to free him and the others, to shutdown the game and every single one of its servers. _Come on,_ Levi urges silently, _come on, just fucking leave, please._ He hears Eren whisper, “What are they doing?” before the soft thuds of footsteps break the relative silence. Eren’s grip loosens around his body. “They’re all leaving…”

“Well they finally realize how fucked up this game is,” a voice says as the crowd’s noise dissipates. It’s Jean, and Levi listens while he makes his way up to the stage, Eren tensing around him. “You wanna get up, man? Eren looks like someone just stabbed him in the heart. I uh, I know that feeling and it fucking hurts so…”

“What are you--” Eren begins, but Levi shifts in his arms, rolling his head to look at Jean.

“I hear you,” he says. He looks back up at Eren, who’s frozen in place, his brows furrowed and mouth hanging open. Levi raises his hand, gently closing Eren’s mouth. “Yes, I know. Before you lose your shit, will you let me explain?” Eren nods like it’s the only thing he can do, and Levi sits up to rest next to his kneeling form.

“After you ran off, I called my sister. She and the others weren’t far so they came to get me and uh, I told them the truth about Marco.” He pauses, sending Jean an apologetic look. “That was horrible, and you two were only trying to do the right thing. I couldn’t let you throw away your shot to get out.”

Eren goes to argue, but Levi holds up a finger. “It wasn’t happening, Eren. So I told my friends about how I wanted to help you, and it turned out they knew someone who could. She’s a little nutty, but her people and my friend Petra— they’re smart as hell. They figured out that we could end the game if we somehow got every Watcher to log out. The system would have no servers left to function and the round would be dead. So they came up with a plan, which by the way, I did not suggest the guns, but it needed to be something dangerous to sway the crowd…”

Levi trails off, a pang in his chest as Eren’s face shifts to an understandably betrayed expression. “I know, I’m sorry. It was a gamble and I wanted to tell you but they needed your reaction to be genuine if the Watchers were going to respond.” Taking a deep breath, he continues. “I knew you wouldn’t shoot me, and I sure as shit wasn’t going to shoot you, so I suggested Jean. You told me he was playing a part and he’d given Isabel his number in case she wanted to partner up like we had.”

Jean puts his hands up. “Nothing dirty, just strategic.” Levi smirks, but it fades just as fast as it came.

“He agreed to help, thank fuck. My friends sent in the dare, got the balling rolling and that's it. You were here for the rest.”

Eren trembles slightly as he nods, his face shifting with mixed emotion. It’s shock, frustration, relief; a myriad of things that Levi wishes he could have prevented in the first place. He reaches out and laces his fingers through Eren’s, but stays silent. He knows it’s a lot, but he’s confident Eren will see why he went along with it in the first place.

Jean crouches down, placing a hand on Eren’s shoulder when the kid doesn’t respond.

“I’m sorry I had to do that, Eren. I just fired off a blank. It looked brutal, I know, but dude, this guy,” he says, shooting Levi an appreciative look, “he’s known you what? Six hours tops? For whatever reason, he cares about your crazy ass.” He lowers his voice, softer as he squeezes Eren’s shoulder. “We’ve been through a lot together, you and me. I know this is rough, and it hasn’t been long, but trust me when I say you shouldn’t hold this against him. If you feel something, don’t waste time.”

Levi tries not to listen, but he hears every word. Jean’s advice is unexpected, though he knows Eren much better than Levi, knows what he needs to hear; and Levi would be lying if he said the advice isn’t good.

Eren closes his eyes and takes a deep, slow breath. “No, I know, I--Jean, it was like Marco all over again. Except…” He casts Levi a wounded, but yearning glance, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. “Jesus Christ, Levi. I thought you were dead and I just _shut down._ I didn’t even think you could be acting. It was-- _god_.” His voice cracks and Levi leans forward to rest his forehead against Eren’s.

“We’re okay, kid,” Levi murmurs. “For what it’s worth--I’m sorry and I don’t blame you for being upset. But you’re free now, so I don’t regret a goddamn thing.” Eren sniffs, squeezing Levi’s hand.

“How do you know they won’t start again? How do you know they won’t use our information to try to keep us prisoner?” And this is the part Levi hates, because they _don’t_ know whether Nerve will be built back up or if it ends here. They can’t guarantee that Eren’s or Jean’s or Levi’s information won’t be used against them, but there is something and Levi clears his throat.

“It’s possible that a new friend of mine might be able to help. She told me as much before I headed here. New identities, new information, she thinks she can keep us off the grid at the very least. You don’t have to worry, Eren.”

“That sounds good,” he whispers, blinking hard and pressing himself further into Levi. Next to them, Jean coughs and stands up straight.

“You two look like you need a minute, so I’m gonna head out.” He tips his head at Levi. “You’ve got my number. If you need me, just shoot me a text.” He smiles at Eren and holds out his hand. Turning away from Levi, Eren takes it and Jean pulls him up and into a hug. When they break, Jean steps back, hopping off the stage with a smile. “Guess it’s time to head home, yeah? I’ll see you around, Eren.”

“Later, Jean.” Eren says, smiling back.

It’s only after Jean leaves and they’re left alone in the quiet of the theatre, that Eren turns back to look at Levi. Levi stands up, Eren’s gaze following him as he comes to stand in front of him. He waits for Eren to speak first, but he just wraps his arms around Levi instead. They stay like that until Eren pulls back, taking Levi’s face in his hands. “Please don’t do that to me again.” It’s the wrong time to tease, Levi knows, but he can’t stop the corner of his mouth from quirking as he stares into Eren’s eyes. He tries to keep his voice even as he speaks.

“Don’t do what?”

Eren tries to keep his face straight but he laughs in spite of himself, shaking his head as his mouth settles into a reluctant smile. “Stop. I’m serious. Don’t fake die on me, don’t real die on me, just...don’t, okay? I can’t take it.” Levi cocks a brow.

“It’s been less than a day.” He says it, though he doesn’t have to. They’re both heavily aware of that fact.

“I don’t care.” Eren leans in, his lips hovering above Levi’s, whose heart beats hard in his chest. “I want you anyway.”

In answer, Levi closes the distance between them, catching Eren’s lips between his own. It’s just as good as before, slow and full in a way that has a fire burning low in Levi’s stomach. But there’s something lighter about it too; a softness that comes with the absence of the game’s pressure. Eren smiles against his lips and Levi groans as his phone rings in his pocket.

He answers the call reluctantly, eyeing Eren’s lips as he does. The call is from Erwin, but he seems to be on speaker, a variety of voices filtering through the receiver. “Hello?”

“Levi?” It’s Petra who speaks first. “We did it. Everything is shut down.” Erwin’s voice follows next.

“You two did well. When you get back, we’re going to talk Levi.” His voice is stern. “All of us. No burden excuses, alright?” Before Levi can even respond, Isabel chimes in.

“Never do that to me again, big brother.”  
  
“Is--” he starts, but for some reason no one wants to let him speak and Isabel continues.

“Now will you please come back so I can hug you? I want to go home.”

“You’re ridiculous,” he tells her, “but yes, I think so. Tell everyone that we said thank you, okay?” With that they hang up, and Levi looks to Eren.

“Are you ready?” It’s time to go back to Hanji’s, time to see what the next step is. 

Eren laughs loudly, his eyes bright. “I think that’s my line,” he says, but he holds his hand out to Levi and steps off the stage, backing slowly up the aisle. “Coming?”

With a smirk, Levi follows after him. He can’t believe how much has happened in the last couple of hours; good, bad, whatever. He doesn’t regret any of it--he can’t, because in the end, he and his sister are safe, and his friends are incredible; because the feel of Eren’s fingers lacing through his is worth going through it all over again. 

Somewhere in the back of his head, Levi does worry that this won’t last, that his and Eren’s connection is just adrenaline and after they talk to Hanji, the kid will go back to his life and forget all about him. But as Eren pulls him through the empty theatre and out onto the street, a wide grin stretching his mouth, Levi regrets even thinking it. He takes a deep breath of fresh air and reaches up to press a kiss to Eren’s jaw as he pulls out his car keys. They’ll figure out what they need to--money, time, everything--but for now he focuses on Eren’s warmth and the clear feeling of freedom that settles in his bones. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated. Thank you for reading!


	9. Epilogue

Sitting on the back steps of Scout’s, Levi checks his watch. His break is over in a second, twenty minutes gone faster than he realizes, and he stands up, looking out at the mountains in the distance. The rising sun casts everything in a pink light, and Levi appreciates it in a way he didn’t before. With a sigh, he turns and hauls open the door, slipping quickly behind the counter. 

“Hey Levi, your corner booth is free,” Petra says, skirting by to snag a stack of napkins. He thanks her and finishes tying his apron back around his waist. He looks over to see his section dotted with customers; peopled, but thankfully not too busy. It’s a nice start to the second half of his shift, especially when he knows how busy it’ll be in just a few hours. Mike catches his eye through the kitchen passthrough and Levi nods at him, grabbing clean silverware and heading for the corner booth. 

It’s only when he rounds the corner and can see past the glass partitions that separate the sections, that he realizes Petra is wrong. Or she’s a liar. Either way, she’s given him the wrong information because the corner booth is most definitely  _ not  _ free. He didn’t notice it before, but he notices the familiar head of shaggy brown hair that occupies it now. His heart rate picks up and he slows his steps, registering the book under Eren’s hands.  _ 1984 _ .

Levi shakes his head lightly and clears his throat, a smirk playing at his lips. It’s a bit on the nose, but it’s sweet and it makes him chuckle in spite of the dorkiness. He knows his line here, but before he can say it, Eren speaks up. 

“You know, George Orwell really  _ is  _ excellent,” he says, and Levi’s smirk settles deeper as he slides into the booth across from him. He places the clean utensils to the side and gives the few occupied tables in his section a glance, though they seem to be good for now. He looks back at Eren and rests his chin on his hand. 

“Is that what you were doing the last two weeks? Reading?”

“And waiting for Hanji to get back to me. I’m sorry I didn’t call.” Eren rubs a hand at the back of his neck with an embarrassed smile. “Things were...a little hectic when I got back.” Levi nods, understanding. It was a little much for him too; a promotion at Erwin’s shop--‘deserved, not out of pity’--and making sure everything went back to normal was a lot, but it would have been so much worse without Hanji and his friends. “How are you? Is Isabel alright?” 

“We’re great.” He checks his watch. “Isabel’s fine. She’s probably just hit snooze on her alarm for the second time, but she’s fine.” He quirks an eyebrow at Eren. “Everything’s good with you now, yeah? How’s  _ your  _ sister?” Levi asks, then curses and moves to shift out of the booth as he notices Mike heading towards them. Eren eyes him, confused. “Sorry Eren, I have to--”

“Sit,” Mike says, pointing at the seat. “Petra’s section is mostly empty and she said to let you two talk. I’m just here to introduce myself.” He faces Eren, extending his hand. “I’m Mike, Levi’s friend. You must be Eren. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Eren nods, reaching out to shake Mike’s hand. 

“I am. It’s good to meet you, sir.” 

Mike shoots him an approving look and crosses his arms over his chest. “Well, Eren. You need anything, you let me know.” He turns to Levi before heading back to the kitchen. “You take the time you need, just don’t be making out in my diner.” Levi chokes back a laugh and waves him off, shaking his head as he watches Mike head off. 

“I’m sorry about him.” 

Eren’s expression is amused. “There’s nothing to apologize for. Your friends are good people.” He leans forward, settling his elbows on the table. “Everything is fine. Mikasa is good. You know that friend she was staying with? Well, they’re a thing now! I didn’t expect Armin to actually tell her how he felt, but I guess with all the craziness…” He shrugs his shoulders with a smile. 

“Good for them.” 

“Exactly,” Eren says, rapping his knuckles on the table. He gives a hard knock and flips his hand over, palm up as it rests near Levi’s fist. “Speaking of getting together…” Eren waits until Levi gives in and settles his hand on top of his own. “Know anyone with a couch for rent?” 

_ That  _ makes Levi pause, and he looks at Eren, surprised. “Is that why you’re back in Cali?” 

“Well I have to find a job, and somewhere to stay if it’s not too much for you and Isabel, but yes. If you’ll have me?” When Levi doesn’t respond right away, Eren backtracks. “I know it’s soon to be asking that but given everything I thought it might be okay, and my sister is happy and free now so I can do what I want and I want to be here with you--” 

Levi resists the urge to laugh at Eren’s ridiculous and adorable babbling. Rather than speak, he stands up and hurriedly closes the distance between them, taking Eren’s face in his hands. His kiss interrupts whatever the kid was about to say, and Levi pulls back almost immediately, bumping Eren’s forehead with his own. “Stay. I’ll talk to Isabel.” 

Eren wraps his hands around Levi’s wrists and looks up into his eyes. “Stay?” He asks, voice hopeful. 

“Yes, stay,” Levi answers, huffing out a laugh. He can’t stop himself from saying what comes next: “ _ I dare you. _ ” Eren stares at him for a moment, then tips his head back and laughs loud and full, the diners near them turning in concern. When Eren looks back at him, there are tears in his eyes. 

“Oh, you asshole,” he murmurs, then pulls Levi back towards him for a real kiss that Levi smiles into. Having Eren close feels right, and when Mike shouts at them for ‘making out’ in front of the whole diner a few seconds later, Levi just smiles harder. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've gotten this far, thank you so much for sticking with Nerve the whole way through. I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
